The Sorcerer Saga
by renextronex
Summary: "but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not" Harry Potter finds very early on that he is not normal human, he has a gift, a gift he will treasure and make grow. When is finally time for him to attend Hogwarts, Is the wizarding world ready for him?
1. Of Disclaimers, Warnings and Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that you recognize, including, but not limited to: characters, places, and situations.

 **Wa** **r** **ning, read please:** I have read, and known of a lot of readers, that come to this website and, angry with not having their expectations met, proceed to flame the author of the work they are reading. In the same way, I know of a lot of authors that stopped writing because of the negativity of the feedback they received, so, in order to save as many as I can from the aforementioned frustrations I would like to write down what you can expect from this particular work of fiction

This is my first work here so any problem with the quality will be fixed as I get better and (I hope) with the support of helpful reviewers that tell me how I'm doing wrong

I don't necessarily hate cliches, what I do think is that even when they are included, it can be done with certain finesse, do it in a way so it doesn't feel like you are reading the same damm thing for the hundredth time, I can't count, for example, how many time I read in a fic this: [after a miserable failure of an idiotic plot by interference of the heroes] "why can't they understand that I do it for the greater good"... I can't help but roll my eyes every time I see this nowadays

I will probably write lemons in the fic, however, this will probably be well beyond the 200k word count so don't expect them for a while

 **Differences from canon:** this story is going to be Harry centric, with an OOC (out of character) Harry, Harry is going to be more intelligent and overpowered by canon standard, he will not, however, steamroll all of his enemies. This is going to be for the foreseeable future a Harry/Hermione fic. I expect to expand upon the rather ambiguous nature of magic and how it works. Hogwarts starts at 13 years old, the age of majority is 19, also Quidditch is general nonsense so I'm rewriting at least how the seeker position works, in order to not make any slip in the time period, assume that everybody's birth is 10 years later than canon, that is to say, Harry will start Hogwarts in 2003 instead of 1991

* * *

 **Prologue**

A house… A normal house, with normal people. A standard two stories house with three rooms, a rather comfy looking living room and family photos carefully displayed around it. A man that wakes up every morning to go to work, a housewife that likes to spy on the neighbors and a child that is dotted by his parents.

If one were to enter this house nobody would probably find anything out of the ordinary, you would probably be invited to tea by the housewife while the man talked about golf or drills. The refreshments would be neither remarkable nor disgusting and when you asked to use the bathroom you would surely find it to be impeccable, if just as unremarkable as the rest of the house.

If, however, you were to adventure to examine exhaustively the house, you would eventually find underneath the façade of normalcy something very different. Below the stairs leading to the second floor of the house was a cupboard and the one to open it would find a rather curious and perturbing sight.

Little Harry Potter stared intently at his pillow, he was pretty sure that it had moved a little while ago on its own. Now, one may be quick to pass it up as a fickle of his imagination, were it not for the fact that it had happened before. Just a few minutes ago his uncle threw him into his cupboard after a rather painful smack in the head, apparently, the Dursley took exception to the fact that somehow his hair grew after the horrid haircut Petunia had given him

He had been angry, so angry in fact that he started to hit the door in a tantrum, which of course did have pretty predictable consequences

"Boy! You are staying in that cupboard for the weekend! And if you don't stop I swear you won't be getting any food for an entire month!" Bellowed a Vernon that surely showed an interesting shade of purple in the face by now, not that Harry could see him behind his cupboard. He could only whip out his hand at nothing in frustration at the impotency that was feeling, cursing the injustice of his situation.

He probably would have missed if it had been any subtler, after all, it hadn't been a big movement at all, only a twitch, a little jump as his pillow apparently decided that it didn't need any outside force to be capable of movement. Harry kept staring at his pillow, his anger not really quelled, but replaced at the moment, with curiosity.

The next couple of hours saw Harry attempting to get another reaction out of his pillow, it was not like he was particularly disciplined, it was just that the other option was boredom, Harry was starting to get pretty tired, he didn't even know why he was doing it at this point, but Harry Potter was stubborn if nothing else, and with the last vestiges of his wavering consciousness he did it! he managed to move the pillow, inconveniently, out of the bed where he promptly fell asleep still in his tattered clothes.

 **A/N:** hi there, for those of you that take the time to read the A/N and offer feedback, I'll like to leave certain aspects of every chapter open for debate or otherwise offer an explanation of why I did this or that in that particular way

1/29/2020: so the original prologue was something of a placeholder, just to get me to post the fic. Since I have improved a little I decided that it would simply no do, it is still, the first thing I posted here so I wanted to leave it as a before-after comparison that I hope some appreciate

 **Prologue (old one)**

Harry Potter had been leading a life that not many could regard with envy, he was shunned and isolated from the other kids his own age for as long as he could remember, he was hated by his relatives who couldn't look at him without betraying the disgust and fear in their faces, he had no friends per say, he spent the first 7 years of his life living like a slave and sleeping in the cupboard below the stairs in the house of his relatives, frequently assaulted by spiders and rats, even so he didn't complain too much, he knew that in exchange for all his misery, he was gifted.

Harry was 6 years old when he confirmed that he was special. He always knew he was different, after all, all kind of phenomena keep occurring around him when he was angry, nervous or ashamed, like when he was 4 and his cousin Dudley was harassing him to give away the candy that the man with weird clothing has given him and he pushed with a strength unbelievable to a skinny 4 years old kid, or when he was running away from Dudley and his gang and the next thing he knew is that he was in a rooftop, all those incidents made sure that he knew he was special, but it wasn't until the night before his seventh birthday when he finally started scratching the surface of the truth, that night he found himself in deep thought about all the little mysteries that happened around him and remembered that in the not so little ones, he felt himself wrapped in some sort of coat but not a regular coat, not one made of fabric, the more he thought about it the clearer the sensation in his memory became, yes, it was like a coat but instead of fabric... liquid? No, not liquid it felt fluid but certainly no wet, so maybe and coat of air? No, it was free as the air but he had the impression that it was denser. In all this thinking he started to realize he was feeling the "coat" around him, and with a tingle of curiosity focused in his pillow and willed it to raise, nothing happened at the beginning so fighting the feeling of disappointment he kept willing it to raise. At the beginning was just a little movement, but the slowly but surely it started to levitate until it stopped at the level of his eyes, he didn't knew how much he stared in wonder at the levitated pillow, but the next thing he knew was the intense feeling of fatigue that assaulted him and the fact that the pillow was falling to the bed, he curled himself in the bed and looked at the wristwatch that he took when Dudley threw it at him 2 years before, looking at the hour, he smirked and thought to himself "well, that is a hell of a gift, happy birthday Harry" and a few seconds later he fell asleep already feeling happier than at any other birthday, (or any other day for that matter) that he could remember.


	2. Bad and good times

**Bad and good times**

* * *

 _Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us._

* * *

There is something to be said about discovery and breakthroughs, there is less to be said; even if not less meaningfully, about overenthusiasm and lack of precaution when dealing with supernatural forces. This was becoming rather evident for one young boy that was rather tired and injured with a rather nasty looking second degree burn "guess it's not a good idea training my powers until I collapse". Yes, the reason for this lamentable state was that Harry has been training his "Electrokinesis" until late at night, literally until he collapsed from exhaustion, it was actually the first time this happened since discovering his powers, usually, he trained until he began to feel exhaustion but the previous day he had a major breakthrough, he discovered a "new power".

Since he began experimenting, he discovered that his power didn't limit itself to move things around, he could also strengthen his body to make it tougher and faster, he could focus in his eyes to see farther distances, and he knew he could also teleport from past experience, but he didn't experiment with that, that stuff felt pretty high level when he did it by accident and he decided to get more skilled with his other powers before attempting it.

Until now he was just recreating things that happened when he was younger and scared, but this was new, the ability to create electricity was something that never happened before. Harry had a scowl in his face when he remembered how his "new power" had manifested for the first time.

It was actually a placid afternoon, as was any that involved being away from the Dursley and he found himself in the library, one of his favorite spots for 3 reasons, first it was quiet, second, it had a good amount of knowledge that he liked to devour, and most importantly, Dudley avoided the place like a devil avoided the church, he had been reading stories about espers trying to get ideas to use his powers, so far the only useful thing that he had found was a few years ago when he found stories of oriental men who moved things around while meditating, and while he didn't need to meditate to use his power, he found he recovered rather quickly from the exhaustion when he did, so it was a good practice to go along with his training, it meant he could train for longer and become proficient quicker with his powers.

He was done reading for the day and in no precisely good mood was in his way to "the house" (he refused to call the damm place "home") when he saw a couple of kids running and 4 other chasing "not again... I swear the inability to learn will kill them one day" he used his power to speed himself and took other street with less people to not be seen running with his nearly 13 years old body at the speed of a professional track runner.

Harry knew it was going to be unpleasant, he didn't really enjoy beating the bully out of his cousin, that's why he just did it a couple of times, but the kids were by far the better company he had and they helped him with his research from time to time, so as far as Harry was concerned they were under his protection, and he would be dammed if he left his pig of a cousin bully them, so he waited around a corner and when the kids went past him, he intersected the pursuers " really Dudders? You never learn?" snarled Harry putting himself between the gang and the intended victims.

Dudley knew he was in problems when he saw the "hellspawn" as his parents called him some times, walking out of the corner with a look that said that he, somehow, was angry and bored at the same time, he liked bulling his cousin when he was younger, but that stopped five years before when he tried punching him for something he didn't even remember in the way back from school and Harry beat the pulp out of him, a broken nose and a couple of bruises went a long way in teaching Dudley that it was better for his health to stay away from "the freak" as long as it was possible. But that wasn't exactly a possibility, in this case, even the young and no precisely brilliant mind of Dudley Dursley knew he couldn't just show his fear of Harry in front of his friends/underlings besides, his primitive mind figured that the numbers could get his out of this peril.

"And what if I don't want freak? Will you fight us? The four of us?" said Dudley trying to not show fear on his face.

"Really Dudders? You think your goons can beat me?" asked Harry raising an eyebrow.

"Hey big D are you going to let him talk to us like that?" asked goon #1 a.k.a. Piers Polkiss a.k.a. rat-face. Piers didn't know much about Harry, he remembered that when they started elementary school he appeared afraid of Dudley, but one year later somehow that stopped being the case and now Dudley didn't bother him so neither did him, but he wasn't going to let the disrespect pass on as nothing.

"Of course not, it's time to teach Potter a lesson" said goon # 2 a.k.a. well... goon #2 Harry didn't even bother to remember who he was as he and goon #3 were fairly recent additions to Dudley's followers.

And that marked it, Dudley couldn't stop it anymore if he didn't want to show weakness even if half of his mind said that this was a BAD idea, besides, the other half wanted to put some fear into Potter.

Now, Harry Potter was not martial artist, he thought of getting training sometimes but never got around looking for it, besides even if he could extortionate the Dursley into paying for his training he didn't want to do it, it felt dirty somehow, and even though Harry understood that dirty methods are necessary sometimes, he was somehow influenced by all the reading about oriental philosophy, so paying for martial arts training with dirty money felt wrong so he didn't even attempt it, but in any case, even without more training than his morning workouts that he started a couple of years before (he figured out that with more stamina his powers may last longer... And they did, if only the ones based of enhancing his body, beside of being an actual training for said powers) he was pretty sure he could take care of a full grown adult that was somehow trained, he wasn't going as far as to say that he could beat some great martial artist just yet, but in any case, he wasn't precisely cowed by the 4 kids in front of him.

When the goons launched themselves to him, he reacted quickly and threw a kick to one of them in the abdomen careful to not break bones but hopefully leave nasty bruises and faster than the surprised goons could react he punched other goon in the face leaving him in front of Dudley "well Dudley, how is it going to be? You can promise that you will never bother those two again and I'll let you go, or I can bet you to pulp and make you promise it".

"You think you can get away with that?" asked Dudley feeling the fear run from his stomach to his throat "if you punch me again Dad is going to throw you out".

"Yeah I wonder about that, do you really think that dear aunt Petunia will risk the neighbors knowing that they kicked me out" asked Harry taking Dudley by the shirt and getting ready to beat him to a pulp when suddenly he heard a scream.

"Aaaiiiiigh"... A girl's scream

Harry turned immediately to find that Piers Polkiss the goon he failed to neutralize had Lydia Alvin taken by the hair "Leave him... Or I'll..." he paused, apparently, he hadn't considered what was going to be his threat "I'll harm her" was all the eloquence he was able to invoke.

Harry saw the situation and cursing his carelessness he considered his options if he dropped Dudley he was pretty sure that Piers wasn't going to leave Lydia alone, so it was either threat with harming Dudley or use a distraction and rushing to save Lydia, he considered in this pondering where was her brother, after all,she and her twin, even while fairly different were rarely apart from each other, it was then that he noticed it, the 11 year old boy clearly stunned and with some blood on his face holding his head and sitting on the floor.

In hindsight, t was from this moment that his anger began to build up. He took Dudley and said "you want your boyfriend Polkiss? Take him, I don't swing that way" and threw him to Piers who in exchange threw Lydia to the nearby wall "thud" was the sound herd before she dropped to the floor.

Now when he saw Lydia's brother in the floor he was more than annoyed but when he saw Lydia dropping to the floor he snapped, Lydia was pretty much the best human contact he had, she was the first human being that showed him what was having a friend felt like, Harry considered her and her brother the closest friends he had, so when Piers Polkiss harmed not one but pretty much his only two friends, well he signed for a rough time.

Enraged, Harry threw himself at Polkiss bashing Dudley to the side with a little bit of telekinesis and punched him on the face, sending him to the floor due to the power focused in his arms, but it wasn't enough, oh no, Polkiss harmed his friends and he didn't seem hurt enough to pay for that, still enraged and without control over his emotions Harry lashed his hand in Polkiss direction and sparks erupted from his hand striking the goon in the arm.

Fortunately, nobody but Harry saw exactly what happened, Lydia was holding her hurting head that had hit the wall, Lydia's brother Anthony seemed to be still stunned, Dudley was facing the floor and Piers had his eyes closed after the potent punch in his face, Harry processed all those facts in a couple of seconds after recovering from the surprise of his new power and decided to make the better of the situation "Next time you hurt one of them Polkiss, it may be something that cut a finger or two instead of giving a little shock" said Harry trying to imply that what he had used was a weapon of some sort.

Harry decided that it was a good that to call retreat a kneeled before Lydia "Lydia? Are you ok?" he asked to the younger girl.

"Mmhm... I-I think so... how is Tony?" Asked Lydia, Harry side glanced to see a still somehow stunned Anthony getting up on his feet and answered "he seems fine... if a little dumber than usual" Lydia grinned a little before getting up with the help of Harry.

"Let's get out of here" Said Harry taking the siblings by the arms and walking away "thanks Hars, those goons wanted us to buy them stuff, had been chasing us from school..." said Anthony after a while, he seemed to have a minor cut in his face that actually was made by tripping when he was distracted by Harry's arrival but besides that, he was fine "how is that your cousin was out of school after you? Didn't know you escaped from classes" said Anthony smirking at the end.

"You didn't know because I don't" said Harry with a grin "I have an agreement since two years ago with Ms. Hudson... ermm, basically I ace all the History exams and I'm not required to attend to her classes, well that, and I have to write essays about my research, but that help me improve my writing anyways so I see it as a plus" said Harry remembering Ms. Hudson saying that she had to pull some strings in the school to allow it, but that seeing such inquisitive mind explore freely was well worth it.

"Well hell, have to be you to pull that one off, wait a minute you are telling me that you have aced ALL of your history exams the last two years?" asked a very surprised Anthony while a not so surprised Lydia giggled.

"Actually three years, I approached her after acing all the exams for a year, I wanted to do the same with physics but I have the feeling that Mr. Richardson won't be as complacent so I never got around it" Said Harry in an explicative manner.

"Well, f course, I actually would be surprised if you took anything else that a perfect score at physics. Now that we are talking about it how about you're other subjects? When we are together in the library is either us aiding you in some crazy investigation through a mountain of books or you coaching us in physics" asked Anthony again.

"Nmhm... well those two are actually the only ones that I get with so much ease, sciences other than physics I don't seem to catch as quickly, I get good grades, but nothing special, my English is pretty good, not enough to ace all the exams, but close enough, same thing with geography, other than that... mmhm, I'm terrible at music, art… well I can draw but don't ask me to apply color, PE..."Here Harry looked a bit sheepish "I could get better marks but I don't want to show off".

Lydia nodded and smiled in a way that showed that she sympathized with not wanting attention. After a while they finally reached their destination, the Alvin House was a small but cozy home and when the Alvins knew that Harry helped their children with their classes they welcomed him like a nephew, Harry loved the few times that he spent there, it was nice eating and sleeping in a place where you were welcomed, upon arriving Harry stopped and said "errrn guys, do you think I can stay here for about a week or so?" asked Harry, the Alvin twins looked surprised for about a second, it was uncommon that Harry asked to sleep in their house rather than being invited, before nodding with a knowing look "yeah, after the beating that I gave them I'm pretty sure we'll have a repetition".

It wasn't the first time he made that request, the first time was actually two years prior when he gave Dudley a punch in the stomach for throwing his plate to the floor while he was going to his room to eat in peace, Vernon was so angry that screamed something about ungrateful freaks and "hell spawns" while keeping a prudent distance from Harry, he had learned his lesson when he tried to punish Harry for giving Dudley his first beating a year after he discovered his powers, and well, Harry didn't find it very amusing so he blasted Vernon to a wall and explained that, one: he wouldn't bother them if they didn't bother him, two: he was done doing the chores for them, he would keep cooking because he liked his food better than Petunia's, but that was it.

"Of course, you know that Mom loves you and Dad is always happy to have someone that likes to play Go so he is not about to complain" said Lydia awakening Harry from his reminiscences.

"Yeah that would be lovely, so I see you guys in a couple of hours. I have to go to the house to get my things and collect my rewa-ahem... receive my punishment" said harry putting a goofy smirk on his face while walking to the number 4 of Privet Drive while the Alvin twins gave him exasperated smiles.

As Harry had predicted when he arrived to "the house" and put his eyes in Dudley who was in the couch with an ice compress in the face, the latter returned the look with a haunted face with Vernon at his side looking red furious "Look what you did BOY I swear this is the last time we put up with your freakishness, you won't have food for a week and the next time I'm throwing you OUT!" barked Vernon at his nephew.

"As much as I want to get out of this hellhole myself, you and I both know it won't happen until I'm 16 and we get a court to emancipate me. Until then we have to put with each other, so I suggest we do this, I'll be gone for a week while you cool off and while I'm not here perhaps you could meditate in who is the better cook between me and aunt Petunia" stated Harry in a calm manner giving them a cold stare before going to his room to take the few clothes he owned and leaving the house as quickly as he could.

Harry suppressed a satisfied sigh when he left the house, he knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help to think that this had been a good day, he advanced in his research, he taught a lesson to Dudley's gang that hopefully would keep them down for a few months, he discovered a new power and he was going to spend a week away from "the house".

The sight of the Alvin house interrupted Harry's musings as he knocked the door and expected someone to answer.

Melinda Alvin was a rather pretty woman with raven black hair and a slender body like everybody in the Alvin family, she worked as a solicitor and was the one who advised Harry in the matter of the emancipation, she adored Harry nearly as much as she loved her own children, if asked, she would say that such love was earned, after all, it was not easy to raise a girl genius and a boy who wrote his first novel at the age of six, she was always worried about their ability to blend in and interact with their peers, so it came as a huge relief when Harry took them under his wing, now Harry himself was not a very social person, but he knew how to interact with people not as gifted as him, he said as a half-joke that if you could put up with the Dursley you developed patience to put up with any social environment, so the fact is that he could walk various social circles in the school maybe not in friendly terms but at least in cordial ones and he had no problems introducing the twins that he actually considered friends so they could get around without being bullied, that is without mentioning the coaching in academics that was always a plus.

"Harry! Lydi told me you were coming, come on dear, leave your stuff in your room and get down, there will be dinner in half an hour" Said the twin's mother indicating the room where he always slept when staying with them. Melinda knew the reason Harry was here, but she knew there was no need to breach the subject, it would not make Harry any favors and she knew her hospitality was all the thanks Harry needed for defending her children, Harry once confessed to her all he put up with the Dursley, it was the only time Harry had cried after discovering his powers, Melinda offered to open a legal procedure but Harry declined, saying that it was ok and that they mostly kept to themselves those days and that he preferred to wait to be sixteen and get emancipated.

One thing that amazed Melinda to no end was the fact that Harry didn't show hatred towards the Dursley, oh sure there was resentment and a great deal of disdain, but not hatred, he said they were too pathetic for that.

Melinda was thinking about all this when she heard the sound of steps in the stairs and saw her daughter getting into the kitchen to help her "I heard the door, did Harry arrive?" asked the girl to her mother.

"Yes, he is getting set in his room and should be coming down to eat with us" answered the mother as she applied the final touches to the diner and glanced back to see harry arriving.

"Can I help with something" asked Harry that was actually always happy to help in the Alvin house when allowed but knowing that the most likely was that he was going to be told to be at ease or be assigned a minor task.

"Well you can put the table while we finish up here" Said Melinda with a motherly smile that never failed to put Harry in a good mood, he really liked the woman, she was motherly but not invasive, she respected the fact that he was not normal child and that he was able and willing to make his own decisions, all of this while offering her advice and showing him affection, Harry suspected that she had her own load of hard experiences, the wisdom and understanding she showed was just not something you picked up in a book.

Michael Alvin arrived home always five minutes before dinner, which is to say at six o clock, Michael was a retired SAS officer that took a small business enterprise upon retirement. He was a proud looking man with dark blond hair.

"Harry! I was unaware of you visiting today, a pleasure as always" Michael at the beginning was not too fond of the young man approaching his little girl but that sentiment went away when it was quite clear that the twins saw Harry as a big brother figure and that Harry took them under his wing with the same feeling.

"Pleasure is mine Michael, I'll be staying for the week, if it's not a problem" Harry used to call them Mr. and Mrs. Alvin, but by their insistence, he started calling them by their names.

"Nonsense, you know you are always welcome in our home, that is of course as long as you are willing to play a game or two of Go after dinner" answered Michael with a sly smile, Michael was an avid Go player, and he was fascinated with the ease with that Harry picked it up, and Harry too enjoyed the friendly competition in an Intellectual game, they kept tabs on how many games they had on each other, so far Michael was wining with 48 games against Harry's 13.

"Always up to a challenge" answered Harry thinking not for the first time that this is how an uncle-nephew relationship should be.

Dinner at the Alvin house was a quiet affair, not because they were overly formal or stiff, but because they all enjoyed the food in partial silence, you could see in their eyes that everyone was quite content to have it this way, besides nobody in the Alvin family was loud, which was other reason Harry loved the family.

After dinner and a game of Go which Harry lost, he excused himself saying he was tired and retired for the day. When he was sitting in his bed after his nightly routine, he decided it was a good moment to try out the "new power"

Harry closed his eyes focused on the memory of the event. It wasn't very difficult to make out what made it different from his other powers, the first times he manifested telekinesis he was angry, he was lashing at everything and anything, but he was not actively trying to harm anybody, this time his heightened emotion were focused on harming an enemy

"Well this is cool" Said Harry to the little sparks that were wavering in his hand, in a couple of seconds he lost his concentration and the little burst of electricity disappeared "like training a new muscle I guess" muttered Harry letting out a sigh "well by the feeling it should be alright to practice as long as I keep it small, should go to practice to the some isolated place when summer holidays started" yes, then he would see how big he could make it, but that was for later, he still had two weeks of classes and luckily he would have most of his exams without the stressful presence of the Dursley.

The rest of the week at the Alvin's wasn't particularly eventful, Harry continued his research, presented his exams, studied with the Alvin twins, played Go with Michael, saw a couple of movies, played a game of Monopoly with the whole family, cooked his best food the couple times he was allowed and of course, practiced his powers.

It was actually pretty difficult at the beginning, for Harry a "new power" was like an atrophied muscle, it was the same with his other four power: "telekinesis", "strength-enhancing", "speed enhancing" and "vision enhancement" at the beginning he is not able to control it and is extremely tiring, but he already got to the point of being able of producing sparks without anger, that was the first step, producing his power without emotional involvement, that was the other reason Harry favored meditation, it was extremely useful at controlling his emotions helping him focus in producing his power.

Eventually, the week expired and it was time for Harry to return, he left with the promise to expend his birthday in their home.

His return to the Dursley's was awkward, at least for the Dursley that kept looking at him not completely sure of what to say, for Vernon and Dudley it was clear that they missed the high grade cooking of Harry. For Petunia, well, she only missed having a little more time to spy on the neighbors, Harry didn't concern himself with any of this, he went to his room, left his things around and went to prepare the dinner.

The last week of classes weren't particularly eventful either, they presented a couple exams, Harry gave his essays of the South Sea Bubble and the Punic Wars to Ms. Hudson who was always fascinated with his insight and always happy to offer her opinion which was one of the few that Harry cared about.

After the end of the classes Harry expended a couple of days refining his ability to control electricity and then went every other day to the abandoned warehouse in the most secluded spot he could find in town to train the potency of his powers, the sparks improved with practice and after a week of training he could produce lightning that traveled a couple of meters, which was not much, but was a start.

It was after one of those training sessions that he noticed that something was wrong, the Dursley seemed to be even more uncomfortable than usual when looking at him, like they didn't know what to do, it unnerved Harry a little, but he decided he was going to deal with it later, today he was spent and was going to sleep, apparently throwing sparks around used quite the quantity of calories.

It didn't take long to figure out what was putting the Dursley in such a state, there were owls outside the house... in the morning... four of them, the Dursley were looking nervously at the nocturnal birds and then at Harry before quickly looking away. Harry was about to question what the hell was going on when it occurred.

the windows of the house opened at the same time and through each one a letter entered the house, Vernon panicked and threw himself at one of those catching one before throwing himself at a second one, Petunia went into a corner with a face that said she was about to scream, Dudley put on a face that showed that he could use some additional grey matter inside his skull, general chaos reigned the house for a few seconds before Harry summoned one of the letters with telekinesis.

When the letter reached Harry's hand time seemed to stop for a couple of seconds, then Petunia's face change from panicked to absolutely horrified and Vernon was about to throw himself at Harry but was stopped by a warning glare by Harry, Dudley was still with a dumb look in his face. Finally Harry directed a look at the letter that caused so much chaos was surprised with what he found.

The letter was a high-quality yellowish envelope not commonly used in modern missives and presented in emerald green color and exquisite calligraphy was written the following:

 _Mr. H. Potter_

 _The Smallest Room_

 _4 Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

Those were the first signs that there was something weird with this letter, the only persons with motives to write to him were the Alvins and Ms. Hudson, the Alvins didn't have any reason to deliver a letter in this envelope that was clearly not cheap paper, Ms. Hudson may do it just for the hell of it, but Harry seriously doubted she would select such method of delivery, besides she had no way of knowing where he slept, finally, he stopped his musings and decided to open the letter which for his surprise revealed several sheets of parchment that clearly shouldn't be able to fit in the slim envelope, Harry decided to think about that latter and started to read

 _HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

 _Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31, the ticket to use the Hogwarts Express and the pertinent instructions will be sent after receiving a reply._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall,_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

 _ANNEX 1: list of all necessary books and equipment._

 _ANNEX 2: map of Diagon Alley with the suggested stores._

 _ANNEX 3: list of prohibited items._

Harry raised his eyes from the letter and said "obviously you know what is going on" said Harry with an icy glare that said he was not up to games or lies "so I believe that explanations are in order".

 **A/N:** I really like this tendency from some authors of putting a quote at the beginning of the chapter, it adds a certain mood to the read. What do you guys think?

I would like to explain the existence of the Alvin's. They are simply there as an emotional "last pillar" for Harry, even if he doesn't rely in them for everything they are like the silver lining, the reason for that even when he found power he didn't went Chucky with everybody around him. Human beings need positive social interaction in their life to keep their mental health, in canon this is disregarded, the abuse of the Dursleys treated as cartoon violence, and the effects of such treatment almost nonexistent. I wanted my character backstory and behavior to make more sense

 **A/N 1/29/2020:** So I rewrote some parts of this, if you read this chapter before this note you may remember that originally Harry had pyrokinesis instead of electrokinesis, this wouldn't make much sense down the line storywise (like by 3rd year or so) so I changed it, and the introductory paragraph was pretty bad I think so I changed it too


	3. Not the best first impressions

**Clarification** **:** what fired the spark that ended up being this fiction was "Harry Potter and a gift of memories" by The Engulfing Silence. Some of you may recognize this chapter as "identical" to chapter 3 of said fiction. This is intentional, this chapter is indeed an adapted version of that fic, is my way to pay tribute to one of my favorite fics and the one that inspired me to start my own, this was done with The Engulfing Silence approval so no, I didn't "steal" anything.

 **Not the best first impressions**

* * *

 _The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Franklin D. Roosevelt_

* * *

Harry waked up late, and that was unusual, after starting his routine of exercises (that were more to train his powers of speed and strength enhancement than to stay in shape) he got used to being an early riser, Harry fought the disorientation that was caused by the fatigue, he had slept only a couple hours, after extorting explanations from aunt Petunia he was left with too much to think, and even though after discovering his abilities he started needing less and less sleeping time, he still needed around six hours of sleep.

He never questioned the Dursley about his parents, he knew that all that bullshit about his father being a drunk good for nothing and his mother being a whore were lies to spite him, lies that by the way didn't repeat themselves after the first beating, same ways he knew there had to be a reason they didn't leave him at an orphanage if they hated him so much, that's why he wasn't too worried about beating Dudley when he crossed the line. He figured he could extort the truth out of them when he was about to leave them for good when he was ready to take his road in life, so when a very reluctant Petunia told him that his mother was a witch and his father was a wizard, that they had a secret community with their a secret government, that Diagon Alley was a hidden commercial district for wizards, that he was left in their door saying that a terrorist killed his parents and that their house was somehow magically protected by the sacrifice of his mother, and so on, and so forth, well surprised didn't start to cut it for the state in which it left him.

That explained so much and left open so many more questions, because... well magic! of course, that was the source of his powers, but was there really not a safer place to put him on that his awful relatives? he seriously doubted that his mother would consent to have him moved here if the sisters hated each other so much, who were his parents? What did they do in this magical community? So many questions. Well, he was going to find out. If his parents were part of this magical community, it stood to reason that they worked, if they worked they had some money if they had money when they died it belonged to him now, Harry took the map of Diagon Alley and studied it "mmhm Leaky Cauldron, pet store, bookstore, wandstore, store store store, yada yada yada, there you are G-Gringotts Bank... well that's some naming sense there, probably have to contact this ministry of magic about the wills but better go to the bank first" decided Harry before washing himself up and making the breakfast with extra portions, after all, he didn't know how long it would take him to do whatever he would do after visiting the bank.

He left the portions for the Dursley in the table and went way to eat in the quiet of his room, not need to see piggy father and piggy son eating like... well pigs.

He decided he would take a cab, after all, it would take a while to get to this Leaky Cauldron and he got enough money doing some heavy work for an old lady a couple of neighborhoods apart, the poor woman was gobsmacked the first time he worked for her when she saw a not necessarily skinny but definitely small nine years old boy carrying around packages that were heavy to full-grown adults but got used quickly enough, it was with this money that Harry bought some clothes that were not hand downs, he didn't buy expensive stuff, but anything was better than Dudley second hands

The cab left him a square away from The Leaky Cauldron, Harry thought that it was prudent if these people wanted to be so secretive, of course after growing up with the Dursley he could see why wizards preferred keeping to themselves

He found the place specified in the map soon enough, and it surprised him that people didn't seem to notice it, even though the door was quite ancient and out of place and the sign had a witch and a cauldron which made it quite distinctive.

He wondered about this. Was there some kind of enchantment that made it invisible? A spell that made it so only those who could use magic could see it? It would make sense.

With his curiosity running at the forefront of his thoughts, Harry entered the pub known as the Leaky Cauldron. He was unsure of what to expect, but when he saw what the inside looked like, he was in a mixture of wonder and disappointment.

The pub was ancient and dark, he could deal with that, in fact, that was the source of the wonder but he was disgusted at how dank and dirty the place was kept. There was very little in the way of light, and only a few candles here and there could be seen in the room, casting shadows along the walls and floor in equal measure. The tables were all dusty; they looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months, and the few people he saw sitting around at the tables were equally unkempt. A few old women sat in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. Smoke blew from the mouth of one as she exhaled after smoking from a long pipe. A little man in a top hat talked to the old bartender, who reminded him of a toothless walnut. Harry couldn't help but wonder at these people and their mostly underwhelming looks. Did they get out of some kind of historical drama?

No one seemed to have noticed him yet. Given how low the lighting was Harry was not surprised; it would be hard to make out the features of those a few inches in front of them, much less someone several feet away. A part of him wished he could stay like this, anonymous. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to associate with these people, men, and women who looked like they had no pride in themselves. But he knew that to get into Diagon Alley, he would need someone to open the path for him, the instructions said as much. With this thought in mind, Harry walked over to the bartender and tapped on the bar table to get his attention.

"Excuse me, sir?" Harry started, his words grabbing the man's attention. He would have spoken further, but the moment the old man's eyes landed on him, they widened. The man nearly dropped the cup he was cleaning, his surprise was that great. Harry shifted uncomfortably. The man was looking at Harry like he had just seen a messiah. It was very disturbing.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, "is this—can it be—?"

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent. The silence unnerved Harry. He could feel the eyes of those around him now on him and the bartender.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor."

To say that Harry was overwhelmed would be quite the understatement. This man knew him. He knew his name. How was that possible? Harry had never seen a wizard before, not that he could remember anyway, he had never been in this pub, never ventured into Diagon Alley, so beg the question. What the hell is going on?

His questions would, unfortunately, go unanswered. With a speed Harry had not expected the bartender to possess, the man moved from behind the counter to stand directly in front of him. The man who looked like a walnut grabbed his right hand in both of his, shaking it furiously, tears staining his eyes.

Harry could feel the eyes of those around him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out, the ones drinking sherry had stopped with the glass half raised to their lips, their drinks spilling over the side. The man in the top hat that had been talking to the bartender was gawking at him like he was some kind of circus display, and everyone else in the room held similar looks. This entire situation had just gone from strange to highly disconcerting within seconds.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

This seemed to be the cue everyone was waiting for. There was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment he was being mobbed by everyone else in the room.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

They crowded around Harry, jostling him and each other so they could get close to him.

"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."

Many began to shake his hand, grabbing and jerking said appendage in their grip, not even taking into consideration the fact that he might not want to.

"Always wanted to shake your hand—I'm all aflutter."

Those who could not shake his hand grabbed his clothes. Their hands clawed at him, clutching his shirt, his pants, his hair; greedy, grubby hands from people he didn't know touching him everywhere.

They were all talking to him as well. Harry could not even get a word in edgewise, though not for lack of trying. He did try to speak, many a time he opened his mouth, only to close it as the cloying scent of so many bodies filled him. The smell of alcohol on those who had consumed too much. The terrible, rancid stench of smoke from the witch that had been puffing on the pipe. The noxious fumes of sweat, combined with the scents of so many different people. Harry couldn't speak when each time he sucked in a breath, the disgusting scent of a dozen bodies pervaded his nostrils.

Even if he could speak it wouldn't have mattered. The many people around him weren't even paying attention to him. So caught up in their excitement were they that they hardly noticed the boy they clawed at so brazenly. Their voices were raised, each one trying to be heard over the others. It only caused the volume in the room to increase exponentially. Even if Harry was capable of speech right now, he would not have been heard.

Harry felt panic rise inside of him. There were few things in this world that he truly feared, at least that he knew of. Of those things the one, he feared the most was the unpredictable. The things he could never see coming no matter how hard he looked, no matter how much he knowledge he acquired. To see so much yet never notice when something is coming, never even think about it happening, or how it could happen. It was a terrifying thing for Harry.

There were several facets of Harry that he took great pride in. The first was his intelligence. Harry Potter was smart, he knew that, his peers knew that and his teachers knew that. He was the top student in his class, he had two subjects that he could pass with flying color at any pre-college level and knew he could take full marks in the other if he put the effort, but he didn't care enough to do it.

The second aspect he took great pride in was his powers. Harry knew that he could beat most adults just with his speed and his strength enhanced, and was pretty sure that with his telekinesis and electrokinesis there were few foes he could not face, at least in the non-magical side of the world.

Thirdly, Harry took great pride in his appearance. Harry had a body that no thirteen-year-old boy should possess. As a byproduct of him training his enhancing powers, his body was defined by hard, sinuous muscles while keeping his slender build.

Fourth, his knowledge, Harry had an immense amount of historical knowledge, it was a passion of him, along with his ability to analyze and read between lines, of being alert of what historian could have missed, his capability to see the two sides of a conflict and see the consequences that few saw, his smell to detect conspiracy, in other words, the skills a good historian can pride himself

Out of the aspects he prided himself on, it was the fifth that was being wounded at the moment. Thanks to his unpleasant upbringing, Harry's talent in observation went far beyond those of his peers. It only took him a few seconds to pick up every peculiars detail of whatever he was looking at. Harry prided himself as a survivor, he knew when to threaten, when to negotiate and when to back off, he knew when to escape (even though he hadn't done it in a while) and when to fight. Due to this, and the many subjects he studied, Harry's ability to predict the way people would react to stimuli both outside and inside was incredibly high. He only needed a few minutes speaking with someone to have most of their personality figured out. After that, it was a very simple matter for him to predict what they would do in most situations. It was this ability that failed him right now. These people that were mobbing him, he had never expected them to, could have never even hoped to anticipate this happening. Were he not in the beginning vestiges of panic he would have probably begun asking questions. Why were these people reacting like this? How did these people know him? Just what had he done to deserve such recognition? In most cases, it would have been clear to him that he was severely lacking in the necessary information that would allow him to come up with a logical conclusion. As things were, his mind was in such disarray from the many people mobbing and grasping at him that he couldn't even think, and it took every ounce of his disappearing auto control to not set the whole place on fire.

The people around him didn't seem to notice his discomfort, or that he was starting to shake with the beginnings of a panic attack. They did not see how his breathing was starting to get labored, or how black spots began forming at the edge of his vision. Due to him being the sole attention of damn near everyone in the room, they did not see or hear the tables, the chairs and all the glasses and table wear in the room begin to jitter and shake. Fortunately for Harry and the people currently harassing him, someone did.

Minerva McGonagall was sitting in the Leaky Cauldron that morning, lightly sipping at some black tea with a bit of cream while she looked over a list that sat upon her table. The list was of those students who she was to meet today. She had done this every year since becoming the Head of House Gryffindor. Each year she before the school year started, McGonagall would get an early start and head towards the Leaky Cauldron, where she would have a cup of tea before heading off to meet her potential students.

Currently, her eyes were scanning the list, the steaming cup of black liquid slightly tanned by cream beside it. At the top of the page was her first student, one Hermione Jean Granger. The girl was from a well-to-do family, as far as McGonagall could tell; her parents were dentists and made a nice living for themselves. There wasn't much more information than that, just the address she needed to take the Hogwarts acceptance letter to.

"Good Lord, is this—can it be—?"

As soon as the words had been spoken, McGonagall, like everyone else, had turned towards the source. Her eyes had widened at the sight before her: a young boy, thin, but not skinny, his muggle clothing framed his form nicely. Raven locks sprang from his head in a messy bird's nest. Emerald green eyes glowed the same color as those of the killing curse. She knew that hair and those eyes; they belonged to two of her most favorite students. And she knew this young man, even if she had not seen him since he was a baby.

She was then subject to watching as the young man was mobbed by a horde of well-wishers. For a moment she felt disgust build up within her. How could these people just invade a person's personal space like that? Was there no common decency in this world anymore?

Disgust soon turned to pity as she watched the people clawing at the boy, trying to shake his hand, trying to touch him. They were loud, impossibly so, as they offered platitudes and salutations, and McGonagall didn't even want to think about how the volume of the shouting horde of fans must be up close.

Pity soon gave way to alarm. Being the only person in the room who was not only not mobbing the boy, but also on the other side of the room, McGonagall saw the tableware begin to shake, candles started to flicker and the air grew heavy. Magic. She could almost feel the magic in the air, and it was all emanating from the boy. She looked back at the boy, his face looked panicked; McGonagall knew she had to act.

Casting away her surprise at seeing such a harsh display of accidental magic from one who should be too old to have such episodes, McGonagall stood up and marched headlong into the horde of excited witches and wizards. She pushed and shoved and glared her way to the center, where she found Harry Potter, his breathing labored and his body shaking. Her anger increased. She grabbed the boy by the arm, helping him keep his balance, and began making her way out of the mob. Those who tried touching the boy again became the subject of the sternest glare she could muster, which under the circumstances, was about ten times worse than what she usually gave when people around her were misbehaving. It was a look everyone in the pub had seen before, albeit, its terror-inducing abilities magnified by a factor of ten, and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of. They began to back off. McGonagall managed to get outside to the back of the pub. There, she let go of Harry, who dropped to his hands and knees, his body still shaking

"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" she asked, her voice concerned as she looked him over. While he did not appear to have suffered any physical damage, his body was shaking and his brow was glossed over with a sheen of sweat. He looked to be on the verge of a heart attack. It was quite worrying.

"I..." Harry sucked in a deep breath, his teeth grit. "I'm fine." He pushed himself backward, landing on his butt, and McGonagall watched as the young man forced himself into a cross-legged position. His eyes closed, his breathing slowed, and ever so slowly, his shaking ceased. McGonagall found herself both worried and impressed. She had no clue what he was doing, but it seemed to be some kind of calming exercise. Perhaps a strange form of clearing your mind like those used by Occlumens.

Emerald green eyes snapped open once more, fixing McGonagall with their piercing stare. The Hogwarts Professor was surprised by how sharp his eyes were now compared to a few moments ago. Just how a boy so young could regain control of himself so quickly when only those who were talented in the mind arts should be capable of such feats was beyond her.

The boy stood up, dusting himself off, before straightening to his full height. He gave her a slight bow of his head in gratitude. "Thank you for that," he began, "I had not been expecting something like that to happen to me today and was caught by surprise. I appreciate your help in getting me out of there."

McGonagall frowned, not only due to his words but also due to how he had reacted to all those people. Granted, getting mobbed by several dozen people was bound to make anyone freak out a little bit, but the way Harry had nearly lost control of his magic had been startling. Then there were his words, there was just something about the way he spoke that seemed... off. It was too old, she would say. He sounded like someone twice his age, and it bothered her a good deal.

She didn't say anything about this, however, and merely inclined her head.

"It is quite alright, Mr. Potter," she said, before getting down to business. There was something else about his presence here that bothered her a great deal. "Now, perhaps you can tell me just what you are doing here without the witch or wizard who was sent to escort you through Diagon Alley?"

That was what she was most curious about. It was not just tradition that caused each Head of House to meet with and speak to the families of muggleborn's that would be going to Hogwarts each year. It was necessity. The magical world was a hidden one, kept from the prying eyes of those who did not have magic through the use of enchantments and spells. Those children born to non-magical parents would know nothing of the world they belonged to, and it was the duty of the teachers at Hogwarts to inform them and their parents of the world the child in question was a part of.

It was the same for Harry Potter, though the circumstances were different. Harry was what one would call Muggle-raised. Born to a wizarding family, yet raised in a non-magical household due to a series of complications. And while McGonagall knew that his aunt had a passing knowledge of the wizarding world, the woman did not know nearly enough to help Harry start his first year at Hogwarts. It was a wonder he'd even managed to find the Leaky Cauldron!

"I'm sorry," Harry started, his lips forming a frown. "But just how is it that you and everyone else seem to know my name?"

McGonagall blinked. Frowned. Then blinked again. Finally, her mind registered the words and she was almost tempted to rub her temples in order to stifle the coming headache. This was not good. Not good at all.

xxx

Minerva McGonagall was a stern-looking woman. Her face was lined with age, and her lips seemed to be in an almost constant line that denoted neither sadness nor anger, neither hate nor love, neither joy nor depression. It was almost like she was in teacher mode all the time, he mused.

Harry Potter listened with rapt attention as Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and Head of the House of Gryffindor explained why he was so famous to him. It was a most unusual experience, he had to admit, especially for a history enthusiast. Being told by someone else that he was famed for defeating the darkest wizard of the century. He was not quite sure what to think about that. It was also disconcerting to discover that everyone in the wizarding world knew of who he was and how he lost his parents, now he knew thanks to Petunia's confessions that his house was attacked by a terrorist when he was a toddler but, apparently, he had underestimated the magnitude of the situation. It seemed that in the twelve years he had been left on the Dursley's doorstep, those living in the world of magic had been celebrating his victory over the man known as Voldemort. This man had apparently started a war within magical Britain, one that had nearly destroyed the wizarding world and almost leaked over into the non-magical one. With his Death Eaters by his side, Voldemort had carved a bloody path through the world of magic. Many witches and wizards had been killed. No. Not killed. Killed isn't a strong enough word. Neither was murdered. Most of the victims to Death Eater attacks had suffered horrendously before being allowed the sweet embrace of death.

Allegedly most of those who had been killed were muggleborns, those whose families were not magical. According to Professor McGonagall, this Lord Voldemort was an advocate of "Pureblood rights." He believed that those who were born into a family with magic were of a higher stock than those without it, and that those without it should either be killed, or enslaved. It reminded Harry of what he'd researched about Adolph Hitler, whose hatred of those of Jewish religion was well known.

Professor McGonagall stopped speaking. It had been nearly an hour since she had started as there had been a lot to tell. Throughout it all Harry had sat at the table, back straight, hands clasped on the hard grain surface, a look of interest on his face. When the stern-looking woman finally stopped speaking, Harry leaned forward slightly, his eyes boring into hers as he digested her words.

"So you're telling me that everyone in all of Britain knew what happened that night Voldemort had killed my parents and tried to do the same to me?"

McGonagall grimaced at his use of the man's name, but Harry had more important things to think about than the fear it invoked.

"Why is it that I never knew of this?" he asked, looking at the woman with a frown.

"That is because you were raised in the muggle world," McGonagall explained. She had already gone into a basic description of what a muggle was, a human with non-magical abilities, Harry already knew, having read the glossary of common terms in the wizarding world, which apparently was implemented just a few years ago for the sake of muggleborns.

"And why, pray tell, was I raised in the muggle world?" he asked, both genuine curiosity and slight irritation could just barely be discerned in his voice. Now that he was hearing about how famous he was, he had to wonder. Why was it that he was sent to the Dursley's? If he was so famous, then why was he not brought up in the wizarding world? If he had he would have not have been so humiliated when that mob had, well, mobbed him. Never after discovering his powers had he shown such weakness, never had he felt as ashamed as he did now.

"It was Professor Dumbledore's idea," McGonagall said, and Harry watched as her nostril's flared slightly. It was clear to him that she did not approve of his living with the Dursley's, which pleased him slightly, though he masked it well. Now onto the next question.

"And just why did Professor Dumbledore think it a good idea to leave me in the care of a muggle family?" Granted, those people were his relatives, but they knew nothing of magic. Hell, they hated magic! To them, magic was unnatural, something that shouldn't exist. To them, anything so unusual, so freakish, was to be hated, not embraced.

"Safety primarily, there are… certain elements in our society that were not very happy with the dark lord's demise, also he felt that it would not be a good idea for you to grow up knowing of your fame," McGonagall explained. "He did not want you to become egotistical, which is what would have happened if you grew up in the spotlight."

Ah, now that made sense, Harry thought. Yes, he could see why Dumbledore would want him to be raised away from his fame. People who grew up in the spotlight became ugly, pig-headed; they let their innate sense of superiority go to their heads and became nothing more than arrogant fools who believed themselves better than everyone else simply because they were famous, 'in other words Dudley in steroids' though Harry with a grimace. In that regard at least, Dumbledore had done right, and now that he remembered Petunia did say something about a magical protection in the house, but Harry smelled something, there was more to this story, more agendas, but he wasn't entirely sure that the professor in front of him knew anything else, she seemed sincere enough after all.

Harry felt anger, white-hot anger raging through him. Anger at Dumbledore for leaving him on the doorstep of those disgusting people. Anger at the Dursley's for not being able to see past their fickleness and hatred. But he knew that there was nothing to be gained of it after all "anger gives motivation without purpose".

Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, he allowed his anger to go with it. When he opened his eyes again it was to see Professor McGonagall giving him an inquisitive and worried look. He smiled at her. "Thank you, Professor, for enlightening me about that which I was ignorant of. I have heard the saying that ignorance is a bliss." His smile turned amused. "I was never a fan of it. After what has happened today, well, let's say anyone that gives it to me would be having a hard time calling me a friend."

The stern-looking Professor's lips twitched. It looked like she was trying to smile, but had at some point forgotten how. "Considering what happened today, Mr. Potter, I am not sure I can blame you for that." Her somewhat smile once again became a thin line. "And now that we have that out of the way, perhaps you can tell me why you are here without a teacher?"

At this Harry shrugged, he wasn't too sure about giving away information to her the first time she asked but after all the help he received, he supposed he owed her that much. "No teacher came to my house."

"No teacher came to your house?" McGonagall parroted the question, though her tone was surprised not deadpanned as Harry's had been. "Mr. Potter, what do you mean no teacher came to your house? Though you are not muggle-born, you are muggle-raised. A teacher should have come to your house with your acceptance letter so they could explain your heritage and help get your school supplies at Diagon Alley."

"I don't know what to tell you, Professor," Harry raised his hands in a helpless gesture. "No teacher came to me; I only got a letter that came in through the mail. Nothing more, nothing less. My best guess would be that I was expected to come with my aunt that knows of the magical world"

McGonagall's lips seemed to, impossibly enough, thin even more than they already had. Her hand twitched up in jerky movements, coming to rest upon her forehead, which she began to rub as if trying to stem the tide of a coming migraine. "Oh Albus... you…," she muttered under her breath. It was soft, obviously, Harry was not meant to hear it, but he heard nonetheless. There was a story there, he could tell, but decided to push onto more important things.

"Professor," he began again. McGonagall snapped out of her stress-filled musings to look at him. "Do you think it would be possible to allow me to enter Diagon Alley now?" When he saw her frown at him he quickly continued. "I still need to get my school supplies, after all."

"Mr. Potter, I am not sure that is a good idea." Her lips pursed as she looked at him, debating the merits of whatever thoughts were on her mind. "I have already told you the reason we have a teacher go into Diagon Alley with those who are raised in a muggle household. Perhaps it would be best if... I were to accompany you."

Harry tilted his head, considering her offer. It would prove to be most beneficial to have someone along who could show him where to get his supplies and answer his questions. He had many of those, after all. Questions, that is. At the same time, Harry was a very independent person. He did not like relying on others and liked less yet letting other delve into his business. If there was a question he had, he would find the answer himself. If there was something to be done, he would rather do it himself. He preferred it that way, less room for error.

"I do thank you for the offer," Harry's response was congenial if a bit halting. "However, I think I would prefer heading on alone." Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to respond, perhaps to refute his words and demand to go with him. Harry wouldn't give her the opportunity.

"And besides, you said it yourself; the reason you are here is to explain to muggleborn students that they can use magic and help them enter Diagon Alley." He gestured to the list sitting on the table. "That list, it contains the names of those you are supposed to meet with today, yes?"

McGonagall looked reluctant but gave him a nod. She looked like she was about to say something again, but Harry beat her to it.

"I wouldn't want to ruin your schedule just because of a mix up with my letter. And I assure you, unlike most children my age, I am quite capable of handling myself." He tilted his head, lips twitching as he fought to keep his smile from turning into a grimace. "That... little outburst you saw earlier was caused by a mild case of agoraphobia, it hasn't been a problem in years but then again, my resistance was never tested like that, as long as I'm aware of the possibility, that little outburst should be a one-time thing." The way he said 'little outburst' was almost like he was swallowing a poison. "It won't happen again."

McGonagall pursed her lips, and Harry could almost see what the woman was thinking. Here he was, a student, muggle-raised and without a teacher, and he was heading into Diagon Alley to pick up his school supplies. As a teacher, one who was quite obviously stern, but fair, she probably prided herself on following the rules, and while Harry was not sure leaving a muggle-raised student to find their way through Diagon Alley was against any rules, it probably spat in the face of tradition—and the clearly high moral standard she set for herself. Which was likely just as bad.

At the same time, it was also clear she was in a hurry. She had just spent an hour explaining his apparent fame in the wizarding world to him, an hour which she should have used to meet her first student and begin explaining magic to them and their parents. She was already off her carefully-crafted schedule, and that likely rankled her a bit. Time for a bit of positive reinforcement.

"I assure you, Professor, that I am quite capable." Harry gave her a confident smile. "While I admit that I was raised by muggles, my Aunt did know of my heritage, so I was not completely ignorant of what to expect. I simply had not known that I was so famous. That's all." Of course, he left out the fact that he was informed of said heritage the day before, but the professor didn't need to know that. McGonagall did not look convinced, but there was nothing she could do. She grimaced, then said, "Very well, Mr. Potter." There was a resignation in her voice. "In that case, I shall open the way to Diagon Alley."

Harry offered the woman another grateful nod and a more genuine smile. "Thank you."

Glad that his newest crises had been averted and more than a little overwhelmed by the new influx of information that seemed like a massive follow up for the one he received the day before, Harry stood up and followed Professor McGonagall to the wall that would grant him entrance to Diagon Alley.

 **A/N:** Couldn't resist the gaming reference, haha


	4. Gringotts

**Gringotts**

* * *

 _Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art. Andy Warhol_

* * *

Harry advanced with his head down, not willing to show the iconic scar, he decided that the first thing he would buy was some cloth that could hide his face, this was simply ridiculous, to think his scar was so famous that he had to hide it in order to not being mobbed by the general population.

Finally he allowed himself to look up when he arrived at the massive white building, standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold was what Harry guessed was a Goblin, the glossary explained that they owned Gringotts, Harry couldn't tell much from the expression of his face except that it was a proud creature, so when the gobling bowed to him, Harry, not knowing what was appropriate, could only hope that reciprocating was the correct answer and bowed just as deep as the goblin had done, who in turn looked back mildly surprised, Harry didn't know what to make of that so he hurried and walked to the bronze doors, just to be greeted by a new pair of doors this time silver with some words engraved that Harry read with curiosity.

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

"Well that is a warning if I ever read one" said Harry amused at the poem that clearly promised a world of pain to thieves and fiends.

Harry had not been impressed by the Leaky Cauldron, less even after the mob assaulted him, and so far his impression of the Diagon Alley was that of an painteresque boulevard, but he had to admit something and that was that Gringotts was impressive, with enormous white walls and golden columns, exquisite reliefs in the walls and in the black marble desks, Harry couldn't help but admire the wealth and the level of craftsmanship that was clearly represented in the whole place.

Harry proceeded to put himself in front of one of the available Goblins and greeted "Good afternoon" Harry waited some seconds for the goblin to finish up what he was doing and just when he was about to call his attention again the goblin raised his head.

"Greetings, what can I do for you?" 'Formal and efficient, ok I can work with that' though Harry, since he couldn't get a reading from his face, he got one through his words.

"I wanted to know what I need in order to claim my inheritance" said Harry in a leveled tone trying at the best of his ability to copy the efficiency of the goblin, he took the continued neutrality of the goblin as a success.

"And what would be your last name or the one of the inheritance you want to claim?" asked the goblin who Harry suspected would have liked to be doing something else.

Harry doubted, but only for a second before realizing that there was no point in keeping his name from the bank "Potter, the first name would be Harry" answered him just in case.

The goblin raised an eyebrow before answering "follow me" answered the goblin hopping out of his desk and going through a silver door that had the words "account managers" engraved on it, Harry followed the gobling through a corridor to a wooden door, the gobling knocked the door and waited. A minute after, the door opened and behind it appeared other gobling "Mr. Potter here would like to know about his inheritance" said the first gobling

"May I have your name?" Asked Harry to the first gobling that was about to leave surprising both goblins

"Nagnok" answered the first gobling recovering quickly from his surprise

"Thank you for your time Mr. Nagnok" said Harry in a neutral tone giving short bow 'efficient and respectful' though Harry that was catching up in how to treat a goblin. Nagnok gave himself a short bow and left.

Harry shifted his sight to the new goblin not sure better talking first or waiting to be addressed, a moot point fortunately, because as soon as he put his eyes in the goblin this one said "I am Gornuk account manager of the Potter accounts, come inside Mr. Potter I believe we have quite a bit to talk about" said Gornuk sitting behind his desk and deciding to satisfy his curiosity "I must admit to be impressed Mr. Potter, not many wizards ask for the name of a goblin" said Gornuk, making Harry suspect that they did not expect respect from wizards despite how proud they clearly were

"It would be the epitome of folly not to try to be on good terms with those that manage my money" said Harry in the same neutral voice.

"Indeed" said Gornuk with a slight grin "a wizard with common sense, don't see much of those around, but is always a pleasure" Harry wasn't too sure what to make of this, either those gobling were incredibly bitter, or wizards had a tendency to be incredibly stupid, which remembering the episode at the Leaky Cauldron seemed more than likely, of course it could just be he was biased, after all that incident was nasty for his heart.

"The pleasure is mine Mr. Gornuk" said Harry

"Just Gornuk, humans prefixes are not necessary, if the formality is required then call me by my post, account manager Gornuk" said Gornuk in a rare display of a gobling giving away information for free, but he was not particularly concerned, if this wizard wanted to show respect, he may as well allow him to do it appropriately.

Harry only nodded acknowledging the correction but not feeling the particular need to repeat himself, after all, he could feel that Gornuk too was eager to get in to business.

"Little is known of what was of you after Voldemort killed your parents and your subsequent disappearance, so in order to get to business I must know how much I need to explain. What do you know of your heritage?" asked Gornuk

"Only that I am the son of Lily and James Potter" said Harry

Gornuk let out a sigh indicating that, to his displeasure, this was going to be long "very well, the Potters were a old clan of wealthy merchants until the latter half of the 17th century when they were given a noble title and lands for services to the crown just before the institution of the Statute of Secrecy, this land was used as a vineyard that produced high quality wine for exportation and local commerce, this latter led to and infighting that nearly wiped out the now Noble House of Potter, by the early 19th century only one member remained, but I digress, the fact is that you are a member of the noble House of Potter and the last of your line, as such you have the possibility to attain partial emancipation by the Pureblood Preservation Act of 1798 once you claim your right as the head of your House. Would you like to initiate the procedure?"

Harry was feeling a little overwhelmed again with the influx of new facts and terms 'Statute of Secrecy is self explanatory and Pureblood Preservation Act... well that one is going to require some investigation for the specifics' he decided to leave worrying about that for latter and answered "what do you mean by partial emancipation?" asked Harry letting know that what he wanted to know was the difference between partial and full emancipation

"Partial emancipation means that you are an adult at the eyes of the law, but cannot take your seat in the Wizengamot, and are still subject to some clauses of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery until you get to the age of 17 and can attain full emancipation, in other words you can't use magic outside of Hogwarts yet" Answered Gornuk

Well that was new, Harry had been making liberal use of magic since he was 7, surely enough breaking this "Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery" countless times 'will have to investigate the specifics latter and what is this Wizengamot thing?' he decided to worry about this too, later.

"Shouldn't those procedures be done in the Ministry of Magic" 'after all it is the government right? Why would be bureaucratic procedures be done at the bank?' though Harry a little mystified

"Everything related to inheritances and wills is managed by Gringotts since the Wealth and Property Protection Act of 1526 including the trespassing of the headship of the noble houses" said Gornuk patiently

'so the wizards don't respect the ones that manage not only their money but also the trespassing of their wealth, assets and titles' though Harry amazed at the wizards stupidity "Please start the procedure" said Harry cautiously controlling his voice this time, he was starting to get tired, he needed sugar.

"Very well" answered Gornuk before hopping from his seat and going to one of the stands that were in the office and taking a knife, a basin, a flask and a scroll, he put all of those in the desk and said "cut your hand with the knife, and let a few drops of blood fall into the basin" explained Gornuk

Harry took the knife without hesitation and cut the palm of his hand enough for a few drops of blood to drop into the basin, he didn't feel pain strangely, not that he feared it, his pain threshold was rather high after all, after the blood was dropped in the basin the wound closed quickly causing Harry to stare in wonder at the obviously enchanted item, Gornuk took the flask that had a silver liquid in it and poured it into the basin, the liquid quickly turned golden, at this point the goblin opened the scroll that had some geometric diagrams in it and poured the golden liquid into it, the liquid started changing shape getting smaller until it took the shape of a key.

"Looks like magic acknowledges your blood as part of the Potter line, time to see if it acknowledges you as the head of the house, follow me" said Gornuk exiting the office with Harry in tow .

Harry followed the goblin through several corridors to a less glamorous but nearly equally impressive part of the bank: a cave, an enormous cave with several rails and mine carts that went into several mineshafts underground, Gornuk hoped into one of the mine carts and indicated Harry to do the same and this quickly followed.

One of the things Harry discovered after gaining his powers or magical abilities as we should call them now, is that he was an speed junky, that was one of the reasons he woke up earlier than anybody else, after all he didn't need an Statute of Secret to keep in secret that he was able to run at 60 Km/h, so when the mine cart started moving at a speed that Harry didn't ever bother to calculate but that was clearly fast he had to suppress himself to no scream in delight, but this didn't stop a wide grin from spreading in his face.

the mine cart stopped in front of a pair of enormous metal doors that were about seven meter tall and two meter wide each "this is the main vault of the House of Potter, if you are acknowledged as the head of house you will gain unlimited access to its resources and the trust vault that was created by your parents wills will be closed unless you desire otherwise" stated Gornuk inserting the key in a keyhole besides the door. The effect were quite dramatic, loud sounds of metal bars moving and hitting each other until the chirring door started to open to reveal several mountains of gold coins, one of silver ones, a much smaller one of bronze coins, a vitrine with dozens of jewels, other one with a sword and a dagger, a small bookshelf with about sixty books, and what Harry guessed was some kind of ritual circle in the center of the chamber.

"This is a lot of gold" said an awed Harry, maybe he didn't know about the value of the wizards coins but he knew wealth when he saw it, and he didn't think that the value of gold here was much less than in the non-magical world

"Three quarters of it is mostly the work of your grandfather, Fleamont Potter, quite the business man, managed to quadruple the Potter fortune in a single generation, and one of the few wizards with common sense that I had the pleasure of knowing" said Gornuk in what almost sounded like a fond reminiscence "It actually surprised me to see more of him in you than your father even though he died before you were born"

Harry nodded at the goblin with a small but grateful smile, he was pleased to be similar to his grandfather, the feeling of belonging was something that he didn't get often "and the other quarter?" asked a curious Harry

"You will know when we go through your assets" answered simply the goblin

Harry accepted this, he wasn't particularly impatient about it "what must I do next" asked Harry feeling that he was ready to continue

Gornuk pointed his finger at the circle in the center of the vault "Intent is important in this, stand in the circle, put your hand on your chest and stick your index finger out, state your name, state how you relate to the previous Head of the House and at last say this: by right of birth I claim my position as the Head of the Noble House of Potter, the wording of the last part have to be precise so be careful" Instructed the goblin

"Do you know the second name of my father?" Asked Harry, he only knew that he was called James

"Henry" answered Gornuk briefly

That was everything he needed to know. He felt more nervous than he had felt ever, yesterday he didn't know anything about his parents besides their name, and now he was about to inherit from them a noble title, a fortune of mountains of gold and what seemed to be very expensive jewels, weapons and books, it was more than overwhelming but Harry didn't let it show in his face, if something he learned at the Dursley's was to control his emotions, after all, it wouldn't do to maim them at every little insult.

Harry stood in the middle of the circle put his right hand in his chest sticking out the index finger and recited "I am Harry James Potter, son of James Henry Potter and by right of birth I claim my position as the Head of the Noble House of Potter" after a second of nothing happening, Harry felt a surge of energy around him, the energy started to become light and the light in turn started gathering in his finger and then slowly started to fade away revealing a silver ring with a sapphire in the center, the ring was elegant but simple and the jewel was beautiful but discreet which suited Harry just right.

"Congratulation Lord Potter, that ring mark you as the Head of the Noble House of Potter, it is enchanted for secrecy so if you don't want to show it just will it to disappear, just remember to always have it put while inside of Gringotts. Now this would be a good time to make a withdrawal I believe, to save time, I'm guessing you don't have anything to carry your money so I can facilitate a bag of holding, for a price of course" said the goblin happy to start doing actual business.

'by the name "bag of holding" I take that is enchanted somehow' though Harry more than willing to put the money in a place more comfortable than his pockets "what can you offer and what would be the price, oh and please explain me about these coins and the exchange rate to muggle money please" asked Harry

"Of course, the small bronze ones are Knuts, the silver ones are Sickels and the gold ones are Galleons, 29 Knuts make a Sickle, 17 Sickles make a Galleon, currently a Sickle is equivalent to a muggle pound, now for the bags of holding it would be: bag of 100 coins for 5 galleons, bag of 500 coins for 10 galleons, bag of 1000 coins for 30 galleons, bag of 3000 coins for 50 galleons, bag of 10000 coins for 100 galleons and bottomless bag of holding for 1000 galleons" said the goblin with a glint in his eyes, yep he was very happy of being doing business.

Harry toyed with the idea of buying a bottomless bag but discarded it right away, he didn't think it was necessary and it wasn't like he was going to carry all this wealth around with him, he doubted that even wizards were that foolish "a bag of 10000 coins will do it" answered Harry taking the 100 golden coins from a nearby mountain and giving them to the smiling goblin, he guessed that a bag of 1000 would be enough to buy the school supplies, but he suspected he would be buying more than a normal student, and since he had the money, he would be buying durable high quality stuff.

"Very well, follow me" Harry followed the goblin to outside of the vault where was something that harry didn't notice before

"Pneumatic tubes?" asked Harry surprised, he had the impression that the wizarding world was still in the renaissance at most and didn't expect something this "modern" to be around

"What? Oh yes of course, I heard the muggles found a way to create the messenger conduits without magic, but no. These are enchanted to carry small packages around the bank" answered Gornuk before pulling some small leavers besides the conduit, ten seconds later they heard the sound of something travelling at high speed right before a black cloth popped out of the conduit which Gornuk presented to Harry

Harry, now the proud owner of a black bag of holding, started pouring coins in the bag filling it roughly 70% with galleons, 20% with Sickles 10% with Knuts, when he was done he started looking at the other articles the other articles, the books he would be taking with him at a later date, when he have something to put them into, he made his way to the first vitrine and looked at it, he wasn't interested in wearing any jewels besides his family ring but man some of those were works of beauty, it seemed that the taste for simple elegance ran in the blood, the jewels were for the most part of silver with a few exceptions, the materials and the craftsmanship were notably top quality, but none seemed overly pompous, he parted to the third vitrine and looked at the sword, the sword was a simple looking black sword, there were no ornaments of any kind in it, but Harry could sense the power emanating from the weapon, everything about it screamed "Instrument of Combat and Killing" Harry stared in wonder at the obviously magical weapon

"Ah yes, the sword of Hardwin Potter. Made out of orihalcon, the best goblin alloy for weapons, dating from the times when your family was fairly new to these lands, was actually a gift from Gnarlak the ancestor of Gringott, the founder of the bank, when Hardwin and his wife rescued his son from an enclave of feral vampires. Normally us goblins don't part permanently from our craftsmanship, we don't actually sell goblin jewelry or weapons, we usually rent them, but as it is a gift the creator renounced to any rights to the item, it is now heavily tied to the Potter bloodline, and the head of the House can call forth it at any given time, you just have to raise the hand with the Family Ring and call for it and it should appear in your hand, the dagger on the other hand was a gift to Hardwin's wife Iolanthe Potter, made out of mithril and heavily enchanted, an excellent tool for rituals" explained the goblin to an once again awed Harry

Harry though about taking the dagger but decided against it, he didn't know how is viewed by this society to be carrying a dagger around and he certainly didn't want to be caught with a blade at Hogwarts

"Are we done?" asked Gornuk with a look that said that they better be

"Yes, I'll come back later for some of the books but we are done for now" answered Harry

"Very well" said Gornuk stepping out of the vault with Harry in tow and letting the doors close themselves, after the doors were closed he gave Harry the golden key of the vault "the next time you need to withdrawal something from the vault you just need to present this to an accountant in the reception hall and state your name" said the goblin letting Harry take the key

Back in Gornuk's office Harry sat down and the goblin started to go through several scrolls and an envelope that were put in the desk "please sign here, here and here, this will make official your state as Head of the Noble House of Potter and partially emancipated minor, one copy for you, one copy for us and one copy for the ministry" instructed Gornuk

Harry signed the parchments when a though occurred to him "Gornuk, could you make this to be the most discreet possible? I really don't want to see a headline that says "Boy-Who-Lived emancipated" or something equally ridiculous" said Harry with a concerned expression.

"That can be arranged" said Gornuk with a grin "I would need 200 Galleons for this including my fee of course" finished the goblin with a spark in his eyes implying that there would be bribery here and there, Harry expected as much so it didn't bother him.

"Of course" answered Harry, that valued his anonymity enough to part with that amount without a second though, and started to pull out his bag of holding only to be stopped by Gornuk.

"That won't be necessary, while you are in Gringotts you can transfer money between vaults without physical exchange by signing one of these" said Gornuk pulling a piece of parchment from a drawer and writing something "sign here" instructed the goblin.

Harry inspected the document, it was basically a transfer form for 200 galleons from the Potter main vault to Gornuk's vault, as Harry didn't see anything funny the quickly signed the form and returned it to Gornuk who took it and put it in a messenger conduit.

"Very well I'll handle that matter then, I believe next is the matter of your parents will" said Gornuk taking the envelope and passing it to Harry.

Harry nervously took the envelope and opened it revealing two pieces of parchment, he looked at them solemnly and started reading.

 _LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF JAMES HENRY POTTER_

 _I, JAMES HENRY POTTER currently residing in number 7 of Godrics Hollow, being of sound mind, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament hereby revoking any previous Wills and codicils made by me_

 _If my wife Lily Potter is alive then she is to take the headship of the House until my son Harry is 21 years old_

 _If Lily is dead then all my assets are to be passed to my son, a trust vault of 2000 galleons that is to be refilled every year is to be opened and managed by his guardian, for what I appoint the following persons in the following order:_

 _1.-Sirius Black_

 _2.-Alice Longbottom_

 _3.-Frank Longbottom_

 _4.-Peter Pettigrew_

 _In case of these being unable or unwilling to adopt my son, a guardian is to be appointed by the discretion of Albus Dumbledore, in case of this not being possible Harry is to be put in an muggle orphanage and in no case is he to be put for adoption in the wizarding world._

In case of my son being dead all my Real State assets are to be sold and together with my other liquid assets are to be put in the war efforts against Voldemort and all my other non Real State assets are to be destroyed except those in hands of Albus Dumbledore

Harry had to suppress the tear that threatened to get out of his eye and though about asking about his appointed guardians but decided against it, he would find latter, right now he was tired, and wanted to get over with this, so he continued reading the next parchment, a shorter document, his mother's will.

 _LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF LILY ROSE POTTER_

 _I, LILY ROSE POTTER currently residing in number 7 of Godric's Hollow, being of sound mind, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament hereby revoking any previous Wills and codicils made by me_

 _By this will I hereby ratify everything stated in my husband's will made in the same date .As I have no assets not accounted in the Potter Family Vault except from my original book of spells which is to be sealed by the manager of the Potter Account and given to my son Harry James Potter when he is 13 years old and ready to attend Hogwarts, if it is not possible then is to be delivered to one of the following persons in the following preferential order:_

 _1.-Filius Flitwick_

 _2.-Minerva McGonagall_

 _3.-Albus Dumbledore_

 _4.-Alice Longbottom_

 _If this is not possible then the book is to be destroyed_

Harry was about to ask about the book but when he raised his eyes there was a black featureless box and the goblin just cut his hand with a knife and poured a drop of blood in it causing it to open

"Take it, they also left you those letters but please read them later" said Gornuk that was beginning to get impatient, this was taking too long.

"I believe that the last in the order of business is to go through your assets?" asked Gornuk with the hope of ending this and returning to his normal activities.

"I believe so" answered Harry who was tired himself.

"Very well the Noble House of Potter wealth and assets are listed here and you can see here the last ten transactions" said the goblin presenting Harry two pieces of parchment that read the following.

 _Assets of the Noble House of Potter_

 _Real State_

 _80000 acres of land (previously vineyard) in Dornwell_

 _Potter manor in Dornwell_

 _Number 7 of Godric's Hollow_

 _Liquid Assets_

 _4.384.982 Galleons_

 _641.545 Sickles_

 _112.263 Knuts_

 _Other Properties (In Family Vault)_

 _Sword of Hardwin Potter Valued in 1.300.00 Galleons (tied to Potter bloodline - untransferable)_

 _Dagger of Iolanthe Potter Valued in 900.000 Galleons (tied to Potter bloodline - untransferable)_

 _Potter Family Jewels valued in approx. 700.000 Galleons_

 _Potter Family Library (not appraised)_

 _Other Properties (Outside of Gringotts)_

 _Family Heirloom (Family secret) (entrusted to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore) (not appraised)_

"What happened to the vineyard?" asked Harry.

"It was destroyed by the forces of Gellert Grindelwald in 1938, the earth was cursed to be in an unusable state. It was esteemed to last roughly 50 years and the magical pollution was only recently cleared" answered Gornuk.

'Note to self: investigate who is this Grindelwald, and spit to his grave if he is dead and to his face if he is alive' though a bitter Harry putting a frown in his face and giving the goblin a nod before continuing to read the second parchment.

 _Last 10 actions in the Potter Family Account_

 _1.-Transfer of 200 Galleons from Potter Family Vault to Vault 975 - July 24th 2003_

 _2.-Withdrawal of 7.114 Galleons, 1.823 Sickles and 1.063 Knuts - July 24th 2003_

 _3.-Payment of 100 Galleons for black bag of holding of 10.000 coins - July 24th 2003_

 _4.-Acceptance of new family Head (Harry James Potter) - July 24th 2003_

 _5.-Reception of 1.000.000 Galleons (Reward for the killing of Lord Voldemort) - November 4th 1991_

 _6.-Change of the Last Will and Testament of James Henry Potter and Lily Rose Potter (10 Galleons each) - October 17th 1991_

 _7.-Withdrawal of family heirloom (secret) - October 17th 1991_

 _8.-Deposit of Potter Family Library - October 17th 1991_

 _9.-Deposit of Dagger of Iolanthe Potter - October 17th 1991_

 _10.-Withdrawal of Dagger of Iolanthe Potter - October 4th 1991_

Well, that explained a whole lot about the unexplained quarter of his family fortune, all those years of the pettiness of the Dursleys and it resulted that Harry had won seventeen million pounds when he was a toddler.

"What is the status of Number 7 of Godric Hollow?" asked Harry to his account manager

"Nearly destroyed, it remained untouched as only the Head of the House can give the order to demolish, sell or restore it" Harry nodded at this, he wasn't too crazy about living in the place where his parents were killed, in the other hand, that was where he lived with his parents when they were alive so he didn't want to destroy it either, he could always sell it after restoring it if he wanted, and he could as well just have it to be there as a remainder of his roots. "Schedule it for restoration, there is no need for it to be quick so don't put more money in it than necessary".

"Very well, it should be ready some time the next year, I'll send an owl when I have an exact date and a presumed budget" answered the goblin.

"How about the state of the Potter Manor at Dornwell, and where is this place anyway?" asked Harry with a frown.

"The place is unplottable and as such the location cannot be mapped but instruccions can be made as to how to arrive, the best way to go there is by magical means, as the Head of the House of Potter you can access by your ring once a password is set, I don't recommend it though, the place is utterly destroyed" answered the goblin.

"Can it be restored by the end of the school year?" asked Harry, the manor didn't have any stigma for him so he may as well use it, Gornuk though raised an eyebrow at this and answered "It can, but it will be expensive, around 80.000 Galleons".

"I'll sign a power for you to use up to 100.000 Galleons as long as it is ready when I'm back from Hogwarts" said Harry to a now grinning goblin, this was pleasant business, oh yes pleasant indeed.

"It will be done Lord Potter" said Gornuk happy to have this order, after all the biggest the order, the biggest his fee.

Gornuk quickly produced the document and both signed it "I believe I'll wait to the manor to be restored before deciding what to do with the vineyard and... I guess this is it?" asked a hopeful Harry knowing that they both wanted to end this.

"Quite, only two quick items, the trust vault set by your parents will be closed upon your departure, and a remainder, in case you need to demonstrate that you are partially emancipated you will need to show your family ring. It was a pleasure to make business with you Lord Potter" said finally Gornuk with a slight bow which Harry returned saying "the pleasure was mine Gornuk" and with that Harry finally left Gringotts

* * *

 **A/N:** I really hate the trope that have the goblins throwing themselves into the ground to kiss Harry's feet because he greeted them saying "may your gold ever flow" or something similar and then, he is the heir of ten ancient houses, has more money than a hundred Bill Gates and so on.

In this fic, the goblins will behave neutral (if somewhat snarky) as long as the one they are talking to is polite and don't waste their time, as Gornuk said above, such thing is rare but not unheard of. About the noble house and emancipation thing, is mostly an excuse to give Harry to have a measure of freedom from certain rules and regulations, what I didn't want is to imply that his nobility status gives him major political capital, hence only Noble House instead of the usual "Most Ancient and Noble", and because really, if the Potters achieved such high status they would probably change their names, Potter is not exactly the most noble sounding name.

Also I find really silly those authors that write the "wills" of the Potters as this "make you cry" good bye letters. A will is a legal document, as such, the most important thing is to denote what is to be done with what was in the possession and under the responsibility of the deceased.


	5. Shopping and letters

**Shopping and letters**

* * *

 _You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. Desmond Tutu_

* * *

Harry walked out of Gringotts staring at the list of what he needed for his year at Hogwarts

 _HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

 _UNIFORM_

 _-First-year students will require:_

 _-Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

 _-One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

 _-One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

 _-One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

 _Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

 _COURSE BOOKS_

 _-All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

 _-The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

 _-A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _-Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

 _-A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch_

 _-One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

 _-Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

 _-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

 _-The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

 _OTHER EQUIPMENT_

 _-Trunk_

 _-Wand_

 _-Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set_

 _-Glass or crystal phials_

 _-Telescope set_

 _-Brass scales_

 _Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad (Exceptions may be done for Familiars upon consultation with the staff)_

 _PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED_

 _THEIR OWN_

 _BROOMSTICKS_

"Ok... first of all a trunk, then clothes, then the boring stuff, I'll leave the wand, the books and... I don't know about a pet, but we'll see that too tomorrow" said Harry to himself "but before all that... yes here it is Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, I so need a good ice cream" said Harry suppressing his voice to not call attention, he knew he should take care of buying some clothes that could hide his scar but if Harry were to talk about a weakness or guilty pleasure it would be his sweet tooth, he was a sucker for candies of almost any kind, Harry blamed it on his powers, after all, the energy for all those feats have to come from somewhere so... In any case, hiding his scar with his unruly hair would have to do for now.

Harry ordered an ice cream of chocolate and raspberry and could say that just for the quality of the ice cream he would be willing to raise a couple of points in his opinions of the wizards, that thing was fantastic, the flavor had nothing artificial to it, the consistence had a level of creaminess that he never felt before, and it stood in place, it didn't melt until you got it to your mouth, it was simply magnificent though Harry in bliss while finishing his ice cream and getting up to buy a second one this time of strawberry and lemon pie and he enjoyed even more. By the time he was done and exiting the parlour he was a much happier and somehow not that tired Harry Potter

Harry used his map of the Diagon Alley and made his way towards Wallace and Craig Quality Trunks

Inside, the trunk shop was practically empty for which Harry was thankful, just a couple customers and the shopkeeper that Harry suspected was the owner, he got close to the desk and said "excuse me I'm looking for a trunk but don't know what would be appropriate"

"Hogwarts I take, don't see your parents around, and independent fellow eh?" Harry just nodded at this "well we have about everything you would look for, trunks of different hides and fabrics, normal or magical compartments, normal ones can be arranged however you want, magical we have it of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 13 compartments for it to be Arithmanticly stable, those can be simple, bookshelf shaped, stasis chamber, or wardrobe , for security we have simple lock, key locks, password locks, blood locks and Family Ring lock, every one of our products can be charmed feather-light. If you can afford it buy custom made, we don't use the good stuff in those that you see laying around" said the somewhat bulky shopkeeper

'well if I'm going to buy a trunk, better not having to buy one again' though Harry deciding what would be his order "give me one with the best and or most durable hide you have, 13 magical compartments, 5 bookshelves shaped, 3 stasis chambers, 2 wardrobes and 3 simple ones"

The shopkeeper stared at Harry wide-eyed, after all it was not every day that a kid ordered all the most expensive stuff in the store "long term purchase I get. But are you sure about the best hide we have kid? we actually got some chimera hide last month, a group of crazy bastards fought the beast and actually killed it, one of them died though, nasty business, anyway, the stuff is expensive" Harry only nodded at the man in a signal that it was ok "well a chimera hide trunk, those things last for long, you will have a hard time making a dent on them and with good care it will be in good shape for the grandchildren of your grandchildren. But anyway chimera hide with the compartments you asked for... 2.770 galleons and... What lock you asked for again?"

Harry was not so sure about what to ask, he really, **really** , didn't want to reveal his identity and the fact he was emancipated... 'then again anonymity will not last forever, and if what this man say is true the trunk may as well' "Family Ring lock" said Harry and the shopkeeper seemed actually put off by this "now kid I know it sounds cool and all but a Family ring lock doesn't work with any trinket you may have, you need a noble house head ring to make it work" explained the annoyed shopkeeper at which Harry showed his hand and willed the Potter ring into existence.

the shopkeeper gaped at this, understandably so, if a minor had the family ring it meant that he was the last of his line and that was emancipated, it was then that the shopkeeper studied the kid in front of him, a couple of second later he could only stare wide eyed when he noticed the scar in his forehead somewhat hidden by his unruly hair, when Harry noticed this he got close to the man and said in a low-volume icy voice "now hear me well, I don't really want this little fact to be spread around just yet, so if the little fact gets out and I find that it was from here, you will have a Boy-Who-Lived that is terribly disappointed, very upset and incredibly unsatisfied costumer of your establishment. Did I make myself clear?" asked Harry putting a smile at the end that sent shivers through the back of the poor shopkeeper who could only nod at a very scary thirteen years old Harry Potter

"So... how much would it be with the Family Ring lock and feather-light enchantment and how long for it to be ready. Ah and if you can, disguise the lock so it appears to be the password or the key one" asked Harry in his normal voice

"I-It will be 2.980 galleons milord" answered the cowed shopkeeper "It will be ready in about two hours. Th-the lock is put in a small ritual at the end of the process" Harry didn't particularly like the milord thing, but the shopkeeper was clearly the chatty type and Harry wanted him a little scared so he wouldn't go around spreading his status so he didn't correct him.

"Do you have something for me to put the money?" asked Harry a little put off for having to count that many coins "Of course milord" answered the shopkeeper that was starting to regain the color in his face.

The shopkeeper gave Harry a basket and disappeared to through a door behind the desk.

It took Harry nearly an hour to count the coins for the payment and afterwards was left waiting with nothing to do so he decided to read the letters of his parents. He took first the one with the pretty calligraphy that was a little damaged by liquid that Harry deduced were probably tears.

 _To my son Harry Potter:_

 _Hi Harry, if you are reading this that means that I'm not longer with you, I want you to know that I love you, that if I passed on protecting you then I would do it again a thousand times, that my only regret is not seeing you growing in the fine and wonderful man you will surely become._

 _I want you to be a good man Harry, a strong man, don't let anyone step over you but neither let the arrogance corrode you and start stepping into others, follow your dreams and work for your goals. I want you to find love when you are ready. Love is such a wonderful thing Harry, it let you become something more than you can ever imagine, and reach places you never though you could, but everything in its right moment ok? I don't want you to rush into something that you regret latter._

 _I want you to grow healthy and prepared, eat your veggies ok? I know that you like candies, you always devoured those when Sirius bough them, but you have to eat properly if you want to grow strong ok? And don't let the Potter fortune make you a lazy man Harry, pursue something, no matter what and give your all for what you choose._

 _I love you Harry, I love you so much that I don't even know how to write it in this letter_

 _Your loving Mother_

 _Lily Potter_

When he was done reading his mother letter Harry had tears running in both cheeks and it was with trembling hands that he took the letter from his father and started reading

 _To my son Harry Potter:_

 _Hi son, If you are reading this that means I'm dead, It's a shame really, I really wanted to see you growing, play quidditch with you, show you some ehem... transfiguration tricks, I'm sure that if Sirius is around he will know what I mean. So yeah it is a shame, but what can you do eh? We do what we can with what we get, as the muggle saying that Lily likes so much goes "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"_

 _I want you to be strong Harry, don't let anyone dictate what will be your path and work hard for your goals. My family is wealthy, well that is an understatement but that's beside the point, use that wealth as you see fit but don't let it get to your head, I hope that you can eventually restore the vineyard or do something new with those lands, it's a real shame that I'm not around to see it, grandpa used to talk a lot about how beautiful it all was before Grindelwald_

 _I'm pretty sure you are going to be a handsome man, it runs in the family you know? well that and our hair problems that somehow neither potions nor muggle products seem to be able to fix for more than a couple hours, but anyway I'm pretty sure you'll snatch yourself a few pretty witches... but I'm also pretty sure you'll settle for the clever ones, it also runs in the family. Find love son, of the things that I did in my life only one me happier than marrying your mother and that was looking at your face for the first time, even if I was to die after the wedding I wouldn't change the past. And know that of the thing I pride myself, there is nothing that makes me prouder than being your father_

 _Well I guess that's it eh? Take care of yourself Harry, I better not see you around here for a long time_

 _Goodbye son, I love you_

 _Your father_

 _James Potter_

It took a lot of Harry's willpower for not start crying after reading his parents letters 'they knew they were going to die...' though sadly Harry closing his eyes "look at me mum... dad... I'll make you both proud" said softly Harry with renewed resolve to do his best in this new and more than a little weird world.

"Milord, it's almost ready I only need to link the ring to the lock and seal it, if you'll follow me please?" Asked the shopkeeper a few minutes after Harry was done reading his letters, he was clearly anxious to be done with his current client.

"Of course, lead the way" answered Harry awakening from his daydreaming and carrying the basket with the little mountain of galleons that somehow was not as heavy as it should be 'must be that feather-light enchantment he was talking about' though Harry without much care

Linking the ring to the lock was a simple ritual that involved his ring touching the lock, a few wand taps for part of the shopkeeper and an incantation in a language that Harry though might be ancient Greek.

"It's done milord, to open the different compartments you only have to move this slider before opening the trunk" Harry checked that everything was in order and gave the man the basket with the money, he expected the man to start counting the coins but instead he pointed his wand at the basket and said " _quantitas mensura..._ Everything in order milord" 'so you can count with magic!... of course you can, it's not some crazy accountant will count the million coins from the reward from Voldemort... could have saved me a nearly an hour if I knew how to do that, although I don't know if it will work without a wand' Harry had already realized that wizards didn't seem to do magic without wands but he didn't know if it was for preference, or if they couldn't or if some could and some not so he held his judgment for now.

Harry got out of Wallace and Craig Quality Trunks and made his way to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, it was finally time to fix his clothing situation, when he was reaching his destination he was surprised to see a familiar face "Professor McGonagall" greeted Harry when he got close to the elderly woman

"Mr. Potter, I didn't expect to see you again today, going to update your wardrobe I presume?" Asked the professor

"Yes, I stand out already as it is, so I'm hoping to get something to help me blend with the crowd" McGonagall gave a knowing nod in response and suddenly noticed the obviously high quality trunk

"I notice you are sparing no expense in your purchases" said McGonagall with a little bit of a frown

"Only with items I expect to use for a long time, I'll make sure to be more frugal with my clothes and other short term stuff" said Harry while the professor nodded in approval

"Well don't let me hold you here, I took two students to buy their uniforms, they must be almost done, you may be able to make a couple of acquaintances before you Hogwarts if you enter now" Harry just nodded at this with a smile and entered the store.

The insides of the store were with some sample robes in display, globes and other accessories, and four stools, Harry knew pretty much what he wanted the moment he entered so he approached an employee and before he could say anything the pretty girl started asking questions "Hogwarts handsome? Of course you are come here and let me take the measurements, any preferences in the fabric? We have wool, linen, regular silk, acromantula silk, although those ones take a fair amount of time to be made, only Hogwarts clothes? What about these? Those fabrics arrived three days ago, direct from Syria, very fine stuff" Harry had to interrupt her before she could continue

"Eh... yes please Hogwarts robes, standard stuff, wool, the protective gloves... I don't know, something that gets the job done I guess, besides that I would like... one black hooded robe, one dark blue hooded robe and one crimson robe, again all wool" said Harry that figured that there was no reason for extra expense since the wool seemed comfortable enough and he would have to buy news the next year or the following anyway "Right away my dear, I'll start taking the measurements in a seconds and we will have your order in a few minutes" said the enthusiastic clerk who got to work right away

"Are you too new to this?" asked a voice and for the first time Harry noticed the cute little brunette with bushy hair that was being taken measurements at his side for a while

"Yes, first time in the alley, did you came here with professor McGonagall?" questioned Harry

"You know her?" asked the brunette that for some reason had sparkling eyes the whole time

"Yes she helped a little while ago with an issue"

"Oh that's... wait if you are new why didn't you come with us?"

"Us?"

"Yes, Dean and I, professor McGonagall took us both before coming to the alley, did you come with another professor?"

"errrn... no, my parents were magicals actually so I sort of knew what was I getting into, I just grew up with my relatives that while muggles know about magic" answered Harry in a little awkward manner

"Oh that's... I'm sorry I didn't know" answered the girl realizing the implication of what was being said

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault, and is not like you actually asked anything insensitive"

"I guess... Hermione Granger" said the girl extending her hand

Harry took the hand a little amused by the awkward timing of the greeting and answered without raising too much his voice "Harry Potter" the clerk perked up at this revelation and stopped her hands for a second, but professionalism won out and she continued her job.

"It's ready my dear, you can try them out now" Said an elderly woman to Hermione while entering from a door that Harry guessed leaded to where the workshop was and presenting a black robe.

"Ok, thank you" Said Hermione returning to her previous excitement, taking her robe and heading to the changing room.

Soon enough the clerk finished taking his measures and headed to the workshop to make his clothes and no doubt gossip about "the-boy-who-lived"... Harry really hated that moniker from the moment he hear it from professor McGonagall, that was the kind of crap that put you at the tender mercies of public opinion, and Harry was way too cynical to believe that those mercies were pleasant.

Harry sat in one of the benches and started waiting when a dark skinned boy got out of one of the changing rooms and started looking around for something.

"If you are looking for Hermione, she is trying out her uniform right now" Said Harry picking the boy attention.

"Oh, ehmm, ok I guess I wait then... Dean Thomas by the way" said the boy that seemed more than a little intimidated by everything going around him. "Harry Potter" answered Harry, he could sympathize with him. You are going in your life, minding your own business and suddenly you are told that you are a wizard, that you belong to a hidden community, that are going to go to a school of magic in a castle, next thing you know you are in a hidden magical alley changing your money with creatures apparently taken out of fantasy books to buy cauldrons and wands, so yes Harry could see how the boy could be more than a little overwhelmed at the moment, Harry wondered for a moment how would cope the boy with everything that was happening to him and could only smirk at the though.

It wasn't long before Hermione finished trying out her uniform and departed with Dean in tow after saying good bye and promising to meet in the Hogwarts Express, It wasn't too long before his own garments were ready to be tested and after paying for them he departed in his new blue robes now more easily blending with crowd

the rest of the afternoon was comparatively less remarkable, he bought the cauldron, the crystal phials, the telescope, the set brass scales without any issue and not noteworthy event aside from being left blinking at the ostentatious of the pure gold cauldron that was being sold, he made a point of leaving the wand and the books for the next days, those were going to be the most exiting purchases and he didn't want to manage any more excitement for the day so he made his way to the door Leaky Cauldron and made a sigh. He really, really didn't want to expend the night here, but there were not more inns in the alley and the alternative were the Dursley so... yeah.

Harry made sure that his face was well hidden and made his way to the counter, and asked "how much for your best room?" he figured that by the quality of the establishment the best room couldn't be that impressive but he hope that at least was cleaned... hopefully.

"It would be 14 sickles Mr...? *gasp*" Harry mustered all the anger, displeasure and disdain he could, put it in his face and said in the iciest tone he could muster "Now hear me well, I really didn't appreciate the number you facilitated this morning so from now on I like if you keep to yourself the awed stares and the loud calling, did I make myself clear?"

"y-yes of course Mr. Potter, in fact in apology I won't even charge the use of the room" said and perplexed Tom cursing his carelessness in the morning, after all it wouldn't do for the owner of an establishment such as his to upset a celebrity

"good, I appreciate it, especially since I will be staying until September 1st, now where did you said was my room?" said Harry with a smile that in the situation only managed to be creepy, hurriedly Tom leaded Harry to his room and returned to his counter, thinking that maybe, maybe it would be a good idea to learn to control himself.

Harry in the other hand, was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the room, in contrast to the rest of the establishment, the place was quite fancy, with furniture that wouldn't be out of place in the residence of a noble of the 17th century, well-kept and clean, he just put his trunk in a corner, threw his clothes in a basket nearby and went to sleep, today had been a long day, and something told him that the following day would be just as remarkable.

* * *

 **A/N:** I would really appreciate any feedback in the "goodbye letters". Being a man, I'm pretty confident in James letter, however I can't help but feel that Lily's letter is rather a little bit lackluster.


	6. Story time

**Story Time**

* * *

 _"Storytelling is the essential human activity. The harder the situation, the more essential it is." Tim O'Brien_

* * *

One of the few pleasures that Garrick Ollivander took in life was startling his clients when they entered his shop, 'of course it isn't so amusing when the tables are turned', was the only thing he could think when a fist stopped barely one inch away from his face when the startled teen got a rather violent reaction to one of his usual shenanigans

"I'm sorry, got a little surprised there, you must be Mr. Ollivander?" said the teen retiring his fist

"That would be correct Mr. Potter" answered Ollivander, even without looking for the scar. The boy was the living image of James Potter and those eyes could as well have been taken out of Lily Evans face "I apologize as well for the little scare, now if you give me your wand arm, we'll have you fitted with a wand in no time"

"I'm ambidextrous sir" said Harry

"Then any arm will do" answered Ollivander and casted the standard spell on the measuring tape that took way more measures than strictly necessary but was much simpler that the spell specific to take only the measures he needed "It seems only yesterday that your mother was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." said Ollivander in his usual fashion while looking for an appropriate wand for his latest customer "Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand, eleven inches, Pliable, a little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it, but it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." while this was not exactly accurate, it surely sounded good, and Garrick Ollivander always had a flair for the dramatics

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring, nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and waved it around a bit and… Nothing happened

"Maple and phoenix feather, eleven inches, quite whippy. Try…" Harry waved the new wand around and… again nothing. Ollivander frowned at this.

"Here, ash and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Harry tried, and tried, and tried again to no effect. No explosion, no light, nothing. While It was not expected to have a perfect match in the first try, usually the wand showed some kind of reaction that showed how compatible it was with the wizard, it was through those reaction that the right wand was found, by seeing the level of compatibility a particular wand had with a wizard it was an easy for a master wand crafter to guess what assortment of wands would have a higher or lower compatibility level with the same wizard, kind of like the hot and cold game, the fact that Harry didn't react at all to the wands he was given meant that either he had no magic, which he knew was not true; after all he could feel the boy's magical power and if anything his aura was rather strong, or it could mean that his magic was so special that only the right focus could channel his power.

Ollivander let out a sigh, he loved tricky customers, the challenge felt like a game, a test of his skills, but this was not that, this was simply a chore, he either tested every single wand of his shop on him or he offered a custom wand. The custom wand he didn't want to offer, after all it was known to master crafters that magic matured with the body and the mind and that while those that could afford it ordered a custom wand in their early twenties because it was when the best match could be found, to give a child with not training a custom made wand could be a wonderful thing, giving a faithful companion to help him grow, but it could also have adverse effects, either influencing him too much in his development or stop working after a few years, and both would be a strike to his pride as a wand maker.

Ollivander was musing all of this as Harry tested his seventh wand when he noticed that Harry was staring intensely to a box in one of the shelves, observing this with curiosity, Ollivander took the box and gave it to Harry who opened it and took the wand which… threw small sparks. A not rare if rather substandard reaction to a wand bonding with its wizard, Ollivander suppressed a sigh of disappointment; he was actually expecting something more out of all this.

"Mr. Ollivander" called Harry

"Oh! Of course Mr. Potter, that one is ebony and unicorn hair, rather rigid, good for… Actually a rather average one in most fields, with an emphasis in precision work, a wand that covers for weaknesses rather than emphasize strengths. Anyway maybe I can interest you in a bit of cleaning wax? It pays to always have the wand in good condition." Said Ollivander returning to business

Shaking his head Harry said "No, I mean… Is it usual for the wands to make… sounds?"

Ollivander gasped at this 'the singing of the wands…' but such thing was impossible, the singing of the wands was a phenomenon that manifested in powerful wizards that were well attuned to their own magic, and, although the boy was certainly powerful, that kind of thing could only come through experience, an untrained boy "hearing" the wands was unheard of!

"It… can happen sometimes, rather they always do but not everyone can hear them…" said Ollivander still astonished by this boy

Harry nodded examining his wands "hmm, of the ones I tried I can only hear this one, but… the sound is… opaque?" that was pretty much all the explanation that Ollivander needed, it seemed that the boy would need a custom wand indeed if the only match in his store made him feel such a weak link, the boy seemed exceptional enough that a custom wand wouldn't be detrimental "there is other though, but none of these" signaling the wands around him "I can hear one underground, like… It's exited, euphoric even" Ollivander gaped again

'Could it be? Could this boy be the owner of THAT wand?' though Ollivander with excitement "Mr. Potter, please follow me, we may find your match yet"

Ollivander guided Harry to the backside of the store and through a spiral staircase to the basement. The basement itself was what you would expect from a wand crafter storeroom, there were boxes with what were likely failed wands, piles of different woods around, vitrines with animal parts, likely to be wand cores, and, an ornamented door.

Ollivander pulled out what Harry recognized as a Head of House ring and pushed it against the handle in the door, which opened it with sounds reminiscent of a Gringotts vault door opening in a smaller scale.

"After you Mr. Potter" said Ollivander prompting him to enter.

Beyond the door was a little room dimly lit, a lot of trinkets and artifacts that Harry didn't recognize were reverently put in various tables and vitrines in an orderly manner that contrasted greatly with rest of the store. Ollivander got close to one of the tables and took an ornamented wooden box.

"Most of the wands in this store are made by the present generation Ollivander, there are some that were made by my predecessors, but every one of them were made by a member of my family, there is only one exception" Said Ollivander while reverently opening the ornamented box

Inside of the box was a stick made of what seemed to be crystal, crystal that transitioned from pallid yellow to reddish brown "We call it The Crystal Wand, fossilized elder wood, thirteen inches, double liquid core of basilisk venom and phoenix tears, my family found it a millennia and half ago and to this date we have no Idea of how was it made… But don't let me bore you with such things, try it out"

Harry looked for a few seconds in fascination at the beautiful wand in front of him before taking it into his hands.

The feeling was overwhelming, hotter than an active volcano and colder than the core of a glacier, he felt happier than the most accomplished man in the world and as devastated as the one who lost everything, as powerful as a god and as insignificant as a bacteria. All while light and darkness were swirling around him and his new wand, like dancers in a violent yet tender dance, as terrible as war and as wonderful as a lover's embrace… And as suddenly as it began, it ended with the darkness and the light entering the tip of the wand and disappearing from sight

"Well, that was certainly more interesting than your previous wand Mr. Potter, I have to say that we can only expect great things from you, that wand was guarded by my family for a long time, mighty wizards and accomplished scholars have tries to get a reaction from it without as much as a single firework" said an awed Ollivander while looking at him like he was a particularly fascinating piece of artwork in a museum "In another note, from what my family has been able to deduce, this wand will likely not work for your everyday spells, so while unorthodox I recommend you take the other wand as well" said Ollivander while returning to the store proper with Harry right behind him

"How much will it be for both?" asked Harry, not particularly concerned, after all is not like he had money problems

"mh? Oh that will be seven Galleons Mr. Potter" Harry gaped at the low price which made the wand maker chuckle "Don't look at me like that Mr. Potter, the first wand bought by any wizard are subsidized by the ministry so that a young wizard only pays 10% of the cost, thus seven galleons, as for the crystal wand, that one was not made by my family, only guarded and studied by us, it would be preposterous for me to take payment for it, although I may interest you in a couple of wand holsters? I have a feeling that one such as you will benefit from having his wands available at all times"

"Ehh… yeah, of course, as you say" said a slightly unnerved Harry

"Well let's see… here we go, dragon leather bracer model, you insert you wand in this hole, it's bigger in the inside, when you need the wand, just snap your hand and it should be ejected, ready to be wielded"

"Right… Thank you, so one wand, two holsters and the wax, you think I'll need anything else?"

"Not really, so 30 galleons each holster and 3 galleons the wax so… 70 galleons in total, like if you were getting your second wand… which of course you are" said Ollivander with a chuckle

"Yeah" answered Harry with a wry smile while putting the coins in the table "Thank you for everything Mr. Ollivander, have a nice day"

"Likewise Mr. Potter, oh and if you could relate me the workings of your more especial wand I would be most grateful, I have to admit that I find hard to suppress my curiosity"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure" said Harry exiting the shop

* * *

There was no hesitation in Harry's steps as he went to the next store, he saved it for last because he anticipated it being the one he would be spending the most time in.

"Flourish and Blotts, here I come" said an almost giddy Harry as he entered the bookstore

Surprisingly in a society that is capable of compress space, Flourish and Blotts was a tightly packed store, the shelves were stacked together very close to each other, there was stacks of books in the floor, and for some reason there were bookshelves in the ceiling, Harry could only be thankful that apparently that early in the morning he was practically the only customer.

The quantity of books and the titles was simply fascinating, after asking in the desk for a 1st year school book set; Harry went to explore the other titles. Books like "Modern Magical History", "Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century", "The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts", "Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms", "Self-Defensive Spellwork" started to quickly stack in his arms, that was of course until he found _those books_.

"Harry Potter and Temple of Doom", "Harry Potter and the Secret of Atlantis", "Harry Potter and the Silverlight Princess", "Harry Potter and the Ancient Kingdom", "Harry Potter and the Door to the Beyond", "Harry Potter and the Concert of Darkness" and "Harry Potter and the Crystal Palace"

There are simply moments so surreal that you start to perceive a ringing in your ears, as if reality was drifting away. Harry Potter was experimenting such moment; the fact that they were selling fiction books of him was simply surreal. Harry didn't even register an emotion at the moment.

Harry took a calming breath and counted to 10… Then took one of each of the offending books and put them together in the stack, there was simply not avoiding it, the books existed, if the episode of the previous day at the Leaky Cauldron was any indication, then he was going to have to put up with more than one moron that believed that he did what was written in them, so he had to read them, even if only to not be caught with the pants down when some idiot asked him where was Atlantis.

Still a little bit dazzled, a suddenly very tired Harry carried his rather big stack of books to wait for the couple of customers that were before him to pay; he still couldn't believe the sheer gall of the people that wrote the damm books

Harry paid for his books and after storing them safely in his trunk and carried himself to the ice cream parlor; it was time to replenish lost energy.

* * *

" _Harry and his companions had no other choice but to follow the path deep into the jungle, after that disastrous fall from the cliff they had simply no way back to carry on with their vacation"_

" _They were surrounded and they knew it, the strange creatures wouldn't let them go, Harry knew that it was ill-advised and perhaps foolish of him, but he simply couldn't let his companions die. So Harry threw a pebble to one of the creatures and ran, ran and ran and only looked back upon reaching the doors of the temple, with the army of creatures after him he knew he probably wouldn't see his friends ever again"_

" _The temple had not been kind to Harry, but he persevered nonetheless, with the doors sealed and an army of demon dogs and serpents between him and the entry there was simply no other way but forward, through that simmering portal that promised nothing uncertainty and mystery"_

" _The great city was simply put a sight of beauty, high building made out of glass and chiseled stone with glowing orbs of magic, the paths were adorned with gold and onyx and in the center a great black dome that seemed to eat the very light that surrounded it"_

" _Humanoid fishes! Undead squids! Flying fireballs! Was there no end to the madness of this place? Fortunately for Harry he seemed to have found a refuge, there was no monsters or any general craziness in this building… Only a very pretty pendant in an altar… 'It wouldn't be right to let something so pretty going to waste' though Harry taking the pendant… and then the rumbling began"_

" _Harry kept running from the collapsing ceiling, the building was simply gigantic, he must have been running for an hour already, 'why, oh why the hell did I take that necklace' lamented Harry as he kept running for dear life"_

"' _At last! A place to rest', though Harry as he collapsed against the giant crystal that was in the center of the chamber, falling asleep in seconds"_

"' _An angel' though Harry, there was no other apt description for the silver haired beauty that was looking to his eyes, he could only watch mesmerized as the girl seemed to study him with profound curiosity with those amethyst eyes that seemed to look into his very soul until finally broke the silence "were you the one who freed me?""_

" _Harry and Elethya carried on in awkward silence, Harry was not very thrilled with his new position as "vanguard for any potential dangerous situations", apparently Elethya Wynzorwyn was a princess of all things and she expected him to give his life for her like it was the most natural thing in the world, the only silver lining was that apparently she was a very good archer, of course without bow or arrows it was a moot point anyway"_

" _The ungratefulness of the princess was starting to grate him. He had just saved her from a massive undead thingy and not even a word of thanks "But of course you saved my life, it is your purpose, after all you can't expect me to be exposed to danger can you?"… Harry couldn't believe the sheer arrogance and self-entitlement "I. Am. Not. Your. Subject. And even if I were, did you ever think about how my family would feel? Of the people and the dreams I would leave behind? You are nothing but an ungrateful and useless pampered girl!" screamed Harry in anger before storming out of the room leaving behind a princess with a confused and hurt expression in her face"_

" _The bridge was collapsing, Elethya was already in the other side if barely, Harry gave a jump to try to avoid falling into the river of lava underneath, but it was not to be. Harry started falling, in his mind no doubt that he was going to die in a few seconds, his last regret being that he didn't fix things with Elethya, he had being angry at the time and didn't think that it was simply normal for her, given the life she lived. Just as he finished closing his eyes, he felt a hand closing in his arm; he opened his eyes just to find the princess, half body sticking out of the cliff, grasping his arm, "What are you doing? You are going to fall!" screamed Harry "I'm not leaving you to die! I'm proving you wrong! I'm not useless!" screamed Elethya, In that moment the pendant in Harry's pocked started to glow and Elethya started to suddenly feel stronger, still with great effort she brought Harry up to the edge of the cliff where he climbed and fell onto his back exhausted, only to realize that Elethya was glaring at him "I'm not useless" she said with puffy eyes full of tears "no, I guess you are not" said Harry smiling"_

"" _Your necklace… It must be a crystanium key!" said an exited Elethya "a what?" answered a confused Harry" "I came here with my uncle, It was supposed to be an excursion to a explored ruins… but I touched that big crystal and it trapped me" explained Elethya while dragging me to one of the less deteriorated buildings "He said something when we passed through this building, something about a door through space and time, if we use it we may be able to return home! He said something about needing a crystanium key" "oook…" answered Harry with a wry smile, asking himself if she realized home for her was not home for him"_

" _The "door" had a translucid shimmer all too familiar for Harry, there were no controls in sight, nor anything apparently useful for that matter, but there were simply no more options, the city was infested with monster at this point, so it was either keep going forwards or get eaten "Together?" asked Harry "Together" answered Elethya with a beautiful smile"_

"" _Elethya!" screamed the tall and muscular man that had the same silver hair and amethyst eyes that Elethya "Oh my daughter! You are back! This is a day of joy indeed. Wait, who is that man? Guards!" "No! Father, this man is my benefactor; he is the one who saved me from that horrific place!" "He did?... well come here boy, you are going to clash cups with me! If you really saved my daughter there is to be a banquet in your honor! Hahahaha!" Harry was more than a little overwhelmed by the boisterous king"_

" _What? You want to go home? And where is that?"_

" _I don't know what we can do, ask Audristan, he is our best scholar here, if anyone can help you is him"_

" _Not here, no, no, no, definitely not here. But maybe the badlands, from the badlands you could go anywhere, but the way to the badlands is dangerous! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Dangerous indeed! Terrible the fate of those who enters the badlands unprepared… You are too weak! The badlands would kill you in seconds!"_

"" _Hiya" screamed Harry as he swung his sword against the training dummy, it had been three years since he arrived to the kingdom of Thecarom, of which Elethya was the princess. Harry had been training in the ways of the sword and using magic like the wizards of Thecarom, 'wandless magic… If only the people back home could see me!' though Harry while throwing a fireball at a practice target"_

" _Harry swung he sword against his instructor's and saw how his opponent weapons went flying away "you are ready, there is nothing else for me to teach you" said Ramayar, the best warrior of Thecarom"_

" _Harry saw all his new friends that had come to say good bye to him with tearful eyes, this may not be the place he was born, but it sure was home now "are you sure you have to go?" asked a downtrodden Elethya, in the time he spent in the Kingdom they have become much better friends. "I have to… I'll come back one day, I promise" answered a conflicted Harry. Elethya nodded, then, too fast for him to react, her lips were on his. It was more magical than anything else he had seen or felt, the moment the beautiful princess kissed him, the world was put upside down and at the same time everything made just so much more sense. The king let out a heavy sigh "Very well, the promise has been exchanged. But! The ceremony is to be in five years time!" said the king screaming at the end. "Five years? But father!" said Elethya "This is not up to discussion Elethya!" the princess pouted cutely at this "Eh, Elethya… Promise? Ceremony? What are you two talking about?" asked a bewildered Harry, he knew he was in trouble when he saw Elethya mischievous eyes "Why, we are betrothed of course" Harry fainted"_

" _Harry cut down his twentieth demon of the day. It had been a week since he entered the badlands, a week since Elethya had kissed him. He had yet to see anything in the red dirt wasteland anything but the archway he came from, and demons, lots of demons. A week had transpired, and yet Harry knew his adventure had just begun"_

" _The place was like an amphitheater made out of black and violet stone. From what Audristan had told Harry, he had to stand in the center and concentrate in the place he wanted to go, and the knowledge of how to go there will be simply be given to him, so that he did, standing there for a couple of minutes, concentrating in Home, in the friends he left behind, in the grave of his parents he had more than three years he didn't visit. He knew his return would not be definitive, after all there was a very pretty princess he was totally going to marry, but he still wanted to see Home"_

" _Harry was starting to think that he underestimated this place, like greatly underestimated. A natural conclusion of course, a month since entering the badlands and hundreds of demos killed and he knew that he had barely a third way through his journey. There was a great black dome in the horizon, it was not related to the reason Harry was traveling the desolate place, however he felt compelled to investigate. He would later come to both bless and curse the moment he made that decision"_

" _The inside of the dome was poorly lit, and dirty with what seemed to be animal waste, red candles with black fire casted a dim light in the center of the circle where a congregation of the most heinous creatures you could imagine, and then it started… The Concert of Darkness"_

" _Harry knew at once what was happening, it was in one of the many legends of Thecarom, The Concert of Darkness, a horde of particularly powerful demons that destroyed entire worlds, and it always started with the wails and laments of an assortment of unfortunate victims of the last world they conquered, all while the demons sang terrible sound of victory"_

" _Harry ran. He didn't care if his body broke from the strain, The Concert of Darkness had gathered, and by the location in the badlands they only had one viable target… Thecarom. He would not let his friends die, he had to warn them so they could do something, so Harry ran, slicing any demon he encountered and paying no mind to the injuries he sustained, barely resting three hours a day just to wake up and keep running. It had taken him a month to reach the dome of the Concert of Darkness, it only took a battered and injured Harry a week to make his way back, but he would be able to warn them. He was going to save them!"_

" _A Horde of demons? Are you sure? But… The Concert of Darkness is supposed to be a myth… If what you are saying is true we must prepare ourselves… and be ready to evacuate the women and the children… this may be the end of Thecarom."_

"" _NO! I will not leave! I can fight! This is my home!" Said the princess with teary eyes "Enough! Listen well Elethya… Our people need leaders; they will need someone to look upon tomorrow. Women without their husbands, children without their fathers, and the few protectors that I had to almost whip into agreeing to go. They are going to need someone to look upon. And the ones who remain need to know that their families are going to be looked after, that they have strong leaders, and there is no other I can trust with that duty but you my daughter" said the resolute King"_

"" _My young friend… I leave Elethya in your care, I'll fight at ease until the end knowing that she is in capable hands, I'll see you again in the Fields of Aether" Harry could only nod, he would like nothing more than to fight side by side with the king until the end, but he didn't dare tarnish the resolve of the monarch"_

"" _This portal will send us to a relatively small world; there will be fertile lands and water but little more… Also I'm afraid that the coordinates in the badlands are too close to our current world. We will have at most two years to look for other solution until we suffer another invasion. Even then is the only way we have currently of traveling in masse to another world without crossing the badlands" Said a grim looking Audristan to the war council"_

" _TODAY! We die… The horde of demons is going to arrive at any minute now; they want to destroy everything we hold dear, our kingdom, our homes, our families… AND I SAY THEY WILL FAIL! They may lay waste to our homes, they may destroy our bodies until we are nothing but puddles of blood, but they will not end us! Because there behind us is the future! Our wives, our children! They will live to see tomorrow, they will be the proof that we were here! Today! Alive! Fighting until the last man fall! Because even when this land is no more; they won't be able to destroy our legacy, our history, our future!"_

" _Harry looked around at the roughly made houses that made most of "The settlement", none of them were well made, but that was only to be expected, the builders were for the most part teenagers and housewives, the only men that came with them were the scholars so they didn't lose the knowledge and wisdom of the kingdom, a very select group of craftsmen to serve as teachers and mentors and an elite group of soldiers so the new generation was not left helpless, all the other men had given their lives to contain the demons, to destroy even if it was only one more so they had more time before the next invasion, Harry silently swore that their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain"_

" _Harry and Elethya walked side to side around the city, they had cemented themselves as the leaders of the new kingdom in the last year but not much advancement had been made as to what to do next, the fact was that they simply didn't have any good choice, they lacked the troops to fight the demons and any attempt to make a portal to another livable world had been futile, Harry himself had leaded some expeditions to scout the conditions of the Horde and the findings had been discouraging, they had concluded they had at the least nine months and at the most twelve to do something"_

" _The last few months had been stressful to Harry and Elethya, the knowledge that they had to do an unknown something if they wanted their people to survive was consuming them. It couldn't really be blamed them that they were incredibly hopeful when Audristan called them claiming to have a possible option for their conundrum. "Oh. Enter, enter, yes let's see, I was reading the reports of the place the place you two met, I believe It's called Atlantis? Well, the first time I read it I thought it sounded familiar but couldn't place my finger as to why… It results however that a similar place was visited various centuries ago by some adventurer, he recovered a rather interest selection of books from the place. Look here, this one talks about a place called the crystal palace. Basically a massive ward deployer that protected and hided their civilization, this one other I believe explain how to operate that portal that connected home, but I've yet to translate it, hopefully you'll be able to reroute it here. Never the less you should probably prepare. We only have ten months at the most, and I don't think I'm likely to find another solution" Said Audristan without his usual over the top eccentric speech"_

" _It's surprising what difference makes to have company in a demon infested inter-dimensional wasteland, this was at least the impression that Harry held after three months of traveling the badlands with his companions, an elite group of Thecarom most capable warriors and the most learned scholars, their destination? Atlantis, probably the only place within their reach capable of housing and protecting the survivors of the fallen kingdom. Some may doubt the wisdom of sending so valuable living resources into a fool's errand, but there was the thing, this was a last ditch effort, the settlers of the fallen kingdom wouldn't survive another attack of the demon horde, so everything that could be put to rise the success rate of the mission was taken, if it was the princess and her fiancée, then so be it"_

"" _Hurry up dammit, only a couple miles more" screamed Harry to the soldiers, the poor schoolars were being carried in their shoulders as to not slow down the group. The party had attracted the attention of a rather big group of demons while bring relatively close to their destination, and while it was nothing they couldn't defeat, it was extremely likely that the demons would get reinforcements and wipe them out, "C'mon we are almost there. Johnas what the hell are you doing!?" screamed Harry to the soldier that for whatever reason started running in the opposite direction "It has been an honor Sir! But I think we both know you'll need some time to cross the gate, you won't make it without a distraction" said the brave soldier drawing his sword to confront the group of demons"_

" _Atlantis was just as Harry remembered, with the aquamarine color in the buildings and plenty of gold in the decorations, the demon fish-men and undead squids, it almost comical how he could now cut through them like they were butter when they had terrorized him just a few years back. It was pretty clear that their objective was under the ominous black dome he remembered from his last time in the place, with a sense of foreboding Harry saw no other choice but to lead the expedition to the strange construct"_

" _The dome was a curse… Ok that was not much of a surprise, the problem was that it was a demonic curse, as soon as they started running test against the thing it started spewing demons left and right, fortunately none of the demons were particularly strong but the constant harassment was taking the toll on the defenders and the scholars didn't know how much time it would take to put down the cursed ward"_

" _A frantic Audristan was casting spells while looking at the numerous magical implements deployed around the dome "It's almost done, a few more seconds!" screamed he exited to get something done after a week of work "It's dissipating, prepare for whatever is coming" the whole expedition braced themselves, prepared to face whatever eldritch abomination had put the curse in place, and then… nothing, the dome simply vanished revealing a beautiful palace made out of blue crystal surrounded by seven majestic towers in which were carved different symbols. Everyone was taken by the magnificent sight until suddenly there was a rumble and everyone felt the great pulse of magic that travelled the area, while everyone was looking around them confused Audristan alone was ashen faced by the event "no… no, no, NO!, this can't be happening! we were so close!" raged the elderly scholar"_

"" _Audristan what happened? We did it didn't we? We collapsed the curse!" asked the princess "I'm afraid we may have accelerated our own demise your highness, that cursed was tied to an inter-dimensional beacon, now pretty much every demon in the badlands know that there is something here, as you can imagine that includes…" "The horde…"completed the princess "Rigth… We don't have nearly enough time, we need someone to return home to set the connection to the portal coordinates in the other side while we set the defenses of the crystal palace and the way back will be infested with enemies." "I'll go, we can't afford to be slowed by numbers" immediately volunteered Harry "Not alone, you will not, I'll go with you" said Elethya in a commanding tone, Harry was about to protest but the look in her face spoke of her determination, this was not the girl that childishly demanded things to be done for her, neither was she the teen that didn't want to leave her father behind, this was the young woman ready to give everything for the last chance her people had to survive, reluctantly Harry gave a nod"_

" _The return trip had been brutal, with all the hundreds of demons they had to kill Harry and Elethya were simply tired and weary when they finally reached home, unfortunately for them however, time was of essence so they quickly set the militia to organize the people while they set the portal, it would take several weeks to evacuate everyone, and they didn't have that kind of time"_

" _Your highness, the scouts report that the horde is advancing to our position, they'll be here in just 10 days."_

" _We only have evacuated half of the people. There is no time!"_

" _Harry and Elethya stared grimly at the war council "We need to send a sabotage squad to the horde. Explosives, poison gases, and a few warriors should be able to hold them in the badlands for long enough to complete the evacuation, I will not lie however, this is a mission behind the enemy lines, those that go, won't likely return" Said Harry in a somber tone, he had been studying with the few retired generals that didn't remain in Thecarom and it had been drilled in his mind and being the need to make difficult decisions "With your permission your highness, I will appoint myself to this task" said an impassive Ramayar, Harry was not particularly surprised. He knew that Ramayar mourned more than any other survivor the opportunity to die by his king side defending his homeland, it did not however, diminish the pain he felt sending his mentor to a suicide mission"_

" _The evacuation was complete, only Harry, Elethya and the newly appointed royal guard remained, Harry had insisted in being the last one. He didn't have much hope, but he was not going to evacuate until the last minute, in the off chance that his friend and mentor returned alive "You should go now, I'll be there in a few hours" said Harry absentmindedly "I'm not leaving you behind" said firmly Elethya, their last few months had hardened her to the point many called her "The Warrior Queen" she even had a scar running through her cheek from their last time in the badlands, to Harry however she looked more beautiful than ever "Highness, the rift is opening" said one of the soldiers waking Harry from his musings. This was it, it would either be demons or Ramayar through that rift and Harry couldn't help but hope, as the rift opened however a hideous creature exited screeching and running to cause destruction. Harry allowed himself a second of mourning before saying "set the explosives charges and open the gate! We are leaving" Harry would make sure to use his more devastating spell before departing"_

" _Harry and Elethya stood before of the massive stone monolith in front of them, a giant tombstone and monument in which was carved the name of every single man and woman that died in defense of Thecarom and of those brave men of the suicide squad that gave their lives so everyone else could evacuate. Fortunately their new home had the basic infrastructure necessary to support a country, even if most of it was in a grave state of disrepair. Many wanted Elethya and Harry to wear the crown as soon as possible, but they wanted to wait the remaining two years that the late king had ordered before marrying and Elethya refused to be crowned alone, besides, Harry had yet to make that trip Home and being a monarch would leave him little time for such things "This place is never alone" said suddenly Elethya, and it was true, one of the first things built by the settlers in the "New Lands" you never found the place without someone mourning late friends or family "They are hurting, the wound left to us as a people is deep and the scar won't heal for a long time" Elethya then looked at him with pleading eyes "promise you won't leave me, they want me to lead them, to help them heal, but… I'm not strong enough, I can't do it alone" Harry was heartbroken at this sight, It had taken a few months of peace for Elethya to break the hard shell she made for herself after her father's death and even then she only dropped it completely in front of Harry "You'll never be alone, whatever you have to do, well do it together" said Harry planting a soft but passionate kiss on her lips"_

* * *

Harry stared dumbly at the pile of books he just finished reading. As far as literature aimed at teenagers goes, it was actually far from the worst, it was just the sheer gall of publishing books using his name without his consent, and they didn't even have the decency to add a disclaimer about it being fiction. Harry felt a heavy sigh leave him as he allowed himself to fall in his bed, no even 48 hours in this new society and he already needed a solicitor, but that could wait, right now he was tired, and those soft pillows were tempting him.

* * *

 **A/N: I always though that it was pretty lame that those fics in which someone published Harry Potter books never bother to show what actually happens in those books, so I gave it a go and I have to say that while it was tons of fun to write, I also got a major writers block halfway through so I can understand why is not commonly done, with that in mind...**

 **CHALLENGE: make a complete fic using the ideas of the "books" in this chapter**


	7. Seeking under stones

**Seeking under stones**

* * *

 _The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. John F. Kennedy_

* * *

Fast reading has come a long way in the last few decades. Howard Berg, being the epitome of the discipline, was worldly acclaimed as the fastest reader alive, at a whopping 25.000 words per minute, there were almost no books that the man couldn't read in under an hour. Harry may not have been on that level, but still, 4.000 words per minute is still nothing to scoff at. It was not a surprise then, that after merely 3 weeks of knowing about the existence of the wizarding world Harry had more than three dozen books stacked in several piles in the desk of his room at the Leaky Cauldron and even more in his trunk.

The Targets of his hunger for knowledge varied, from moldy history books to colorful fairy tales and from complicated theses that for now flew over his head, to fashion magazines. Harry's objective was to understand the world as much as he could before going to Hogwarts where he knew he would be under harsh scrutiny

" _Although it has been discussed that the presence of a divination teacher at Hogwarts is superfluous at best, useless at worst, with several board members trying to erase the subject from the curriculum, all the attempts have, without a fault, been blocked by the ruling headmaster."_

" _Although we may find the usefulness of the subject questionable, we must remember that this was one of the first disciplines to be taught at Hogwarts, the founders themselves deemed the subject to be worthy of study and at the risk of being seen as a worshiper, I can't help to believe that those great men and women wouldn't add an entire field of study to the curriculum of their institution with the intention of "filling hours", if nothing else we should attempt to question what values are we ignoring and what could have those wizards and witches of old times see that we do not today"_

"Interesting" muttered Harry rising his face from the last tome that captured his attention. and directing his sight to the more streamlined but, oh so much poorer version of what he was reading just now. "Hogwarts a History" read the title, originally a periodistic work done by a small team to publish "All that could be known about Hogwarts", the finished product had been censored so much that at the moment of the final publishing, only the bare bones of what it had been remained, covered of course by an obscene amount of propaganda. Yet the authors eventually found people willing to pay good money for their work, and even if their intention hasn't been to sell it in a back alley in the black market, at the end they did it; if only to spite the men and women who sought to ruin the work of their lives.

That was how the tome ended in Harry's possession, the book had changed hands in the grey and dark parts of society because it dared to show wizarding society at anything else than a fairy tale, the man who sold it to him, was certainly of those that leave a deep impression.

 **: : :**

Harry walked in Diagon Alley in what he called his "Dark Wizard garb", is rather remarkable how donning a black hooded robe can make you appear evil and mysterious, his reasons for doing so were pretty simple, he needed to go to Knockturn Alley and he figured even if child-sized, someone with a dark robe capable of producing flames with his bare hands wasn't likely to be bothered, after all, is not like anybody could be sure he was actually a child.

It took some time to find what he had come looking for, people who traded ancient books and knowledge were actually pretty tricky to find, usually most of those things ended up in the government or in some dusty library owned by an old family. Still, there was a market for it as long as you know how to recognize the duds and the scammers.

There were the easy ones, those that promised that their maps would help you find the buried treasures of the pharaohs or the lost secrets of Mesopotamia, those Harry dismissed without a thought. then there were the tricky ones, those that showed without pomp, old and legit looking documents and manuscripts, but Harry fancied himself somewhat of specialist as far as historical studies went. It was in the details such as a relatively new word seemingly inconsequential as long as it was not written in a 6 centuries old treaty or a history book that made reference to events that would not be known by the world at large until several years after the supposed time of its writing.

It took Harry several days to arrive to a dim-lit but neat store. It didn't have many wares, just some nick nacks and some old looking diaries that had names he couldn't even identify. the thing is, they were perfect, no detail was out of place, no incongruity with the time period it claimed to be from.

Since arriving to the wizarding world and reading everything he could get his hands onto, Harry had come to a worrying realization. It was practically impossible to get your hands on a History book that was not covered in embellishment or censure, now Harry was pretty used to such things after all even in the muggle world it was pretty hard to get your hand in reliable historical information, but still at least there was accessible as long as you knew where to look, Harry was halfway about to give up for the time being when he found the store.

The store was pretty much what Harry had been looking for, testimonies and stories of ancient witches and wizards without propaganda. Just chronicles about either the boring days of a 17th-century ministry worker or the war diary of a wizard that fought in the goblin rebellion of the 15th-century, is not that Harry was particularly interested in some random person's life, rather he wanted to know what spells were commonly used in those times, which ideologies were commonplace and accepted, what was the level of education of the common masses, everything was relevant when trying to understand a historical period.

It had been 4 consecutive days of Harry going to the nameless store to buy more diaries since the shop owner seemed to replenish the 10 or so that he always bough, when an amused and exasperated voice talked to him

"Having fun with those, lad?" said a deceptively well-dressed shop owner

"... somewhat, they are pretty interesting if you know what to look for" said Harry after a brief pause.

"hoo... And what are you looking for?" asked a now intrigued man

Harry didn't answer immediately, instead, he studied the man that owned the unconventional shop. The man was rather robust in a way that it was hard to distinguish if it was fat or muscle, the clothes he wore were very subdued in color and design but deceptively good as far as material and craftsmanship was concerned, he wore a black ring with a serpent engraved in it that Harry first thought was a Head of House ring but it didn't have a jewel so it couldn't be. His eyes shone with what could only be recognized as intelligence and curiosity

"The truth" answered Harry

"Ah, but a man's lie could be another man's truth, so, what kind of truth are you looking for?"

Harry though a little bit before answering "The kind of truth that makes sense, the kind that doesn't contradict what I know and can prove"

The man's face shone a creepy smile that showed his teeth "So, could I be right thinking that you are looking for _**Trust?**_ "

It may have been the way he said it, after all, he wasn't exactly looking for trust itself but rather trustworthy information but Harry was clever enough to infer that his word had a nuance, unfortunately, he still didn't know enough about magic to know what could that mean, so he decided to take the gamble.

"Yes, I am looking for information I can trust" answered Harry with a weary expression

"Good! come over, I have some things that may interest you; if you have something to ask, don't hesitate, as long as your pockets are full and loose I'll answer, this is my trade after all" And that would be the short story of how Harry Potter, boy-who-lived extraordinaire and Rickman Strayder, information broker; met, and how Harry was able to acquire quite a number of books and documents that are normally out of the reach of normal people

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I'm back, real life and all the usual excuses... This chapter is pretty short by my standards, but I think I need to actually put something out to get back my motivation, so there it goes.

Also if you read this fic before 1/29/2020, you should probably go back and read at least the prologue again, I pretty much reworked the entire thing since it was just a placeholder and honestly, I would probably no read a fic that started like that nowadays, I also made some other changes and edited a lot of typos and other errors throughout the fic


End file.
